The Problematic Campione
by Feng Lengshun
Summary: Reaching the limit of his stay in the Little Garden, Sakamaki Izayoi has no choice to return to his old and boring world. But is the world really boring, or is the fun merely very well hidden? It seems that returning won't be as boring as he thought. This is the story of Sakamaki Izayoi, the Eighth Campione, the "Emperor of the Stars". Somewhat AU.
1. 00A - Birth of a New Star

**Foreword:**

Why did I make this? Because I was reading God Slaying Blade Works when I watched Izayoi defeating a Water God in the first episode of 'Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?' with just one kick. And then he went to defeat a Demon Lord Class enemy without as much as a sweat. Finally, I decided to make this. But then… I got stuck at the fight scene and then made Infinite Stratos: Rising after playing MGR: Reveangence to find some inspiration and pass some time. I'll try to balance between the two of them. Now then, let's address a few things first:

0. This is something I recently added. Izayoi will gain a lot of powers. That is because overpowered-ness is part of his canon characterization and I will try to keep it. On the other hand, the many powers I gave him actually acts as a restraint to him as he cannot focus on one, has to think of how to use it nicely, his own canonical forcefully and subconsciously holding back, and preference of using them at minimum power and instead use them weakly but creatively.

1. The writing style. For Izayoi I'm aiming for an 'unclear' narration style a la Suzumiya Haruhi. For Godou it'll be a First-Person Version of IS:R's writing style which in turn was based on a Light Novel's. Other characters will be an 'Another View' section just like August's VNs (mostly). The writing style is a self-imposed challenge for me, to always adhere to that format and name the scenes instead of just using scene breaks. And try to search the Battle Musics. Trust me, they're good.

2. Izayoi's Gift. I'm modifying it a bit. In the Opening, I know that the image is just a colorful representation of their Gift, but I'm making it exactly the same as in that Opening. As such, his Gift would be force-field in nature and can also be fired as a projectile (in the OP it looks like he was shooting it like it was Hadouken). Also, I need to show that they had made some progress on figuring out his abilities since this is after he returned from the Little Garden after two years.

3. Canaria. She was the only people to beat Izayoi in his game in the LN and that person who appears in the first episode during Izayoi vs Water God fight. I only have the information from the wiki to work with so rather than aiming for exact correctness, I simply just filled the detail with my own ideas to suit my needs. Her details has been changed from the canons but I already have plans for it so, *shrugs*.

4. I'm trying to combine bits from the anime with the LN. The Divine Space is one of those things. In this story, some gods can make it those most doesn't even bother since they just don't care. Some gods however don't want to be bothered or have other reason to make it. The nature varies from a Fuzetsu-like state, to Anti-Muggle Field, to a Weakening Field, to even one in which the damages can be repaired or is a truly separate dimension.

Alright that's all I have to say. Do please give some feedback but at least be polite with it, okay?

**NOTE:** Edited to match the formatting of the next chapters. Some words and sentences were rewritten but no change or additions to the plot however. Do forgive me for any other mistakes because this _is_ the first story I have ever written.

**Disclaimer:** Campione and Mondaijitachi does not belong to me, they… ah screw this, this is the last time I'm doing these disclaimers. Just read I Do Not Own page in tvtropes if you wonder why.

* * *

**Chapter 00A – Birth of a New Star**

* * *

**~ Skyfall Redux ~**

**[Location: Sky (Unknown Time)]**

... ... ...

... ...

...

Ah, looking at the overlooking view of the scenery while falling. How I miss it... NOT. I swear, if I see that stupid rabbit again, I will make a stew out of her. Really, sending me back after the time limit of the summoning by throwing me out into the sky. Falling. Again. Just like when she summoned me. What a first-class treatment for the hero who saved their community.

And by 'when she summoned me', it was when I was summoned into the Little Garden to help their community that had lost their name, flag, and members to a Demon Lord's challenge. I joined because it seems to be more interesting than my world. And it is. Too bad I couldn't remain there forever.

Come to think about it, the things I and the other summoned 'heroes' did there reminds me of an anime, though our conditions was darker and edgier. That anime also has the heroes coming back to their world but they managed to go to the other world again. If my condition is the same… heh, looks like I'm going to have the first Black Rabbit Stew ever.

Oh, look, it's the ground. Or more like the water.

***BOOOM***

At this moment I have three targets of hatred: Black Rabbit, the water which isn't soft at all (good thing I was prepared for it), and the creator of this world, whether he's a god or whatever, for not making the soft in this world (Little Garden's was quite soft, it's hard not to notice when you fall into it from the sky).

"Again, that stupid rabbit, if the water weren't this deep, I would've got a permanent Game Over there. Moreover, how can the second season start if the protagonist died?" I complained though she can't hear it. Hm, how about sending a large killing intent at her? Maybe she can feel it…

**[Location: Little Garden]**

Back in the Little Garden felt a shiver down her spine from the huge amount of killing intent she's receiving. She had just send back the 'Problematic Children' back to their original world, so she panicked quite a lot from whoever was sending her killing intent.

And then it hit her. She had just sent them back the same way she brought them: by falling from the sky. Without any protection or barrier (though they are aimed to be dropped into a deep body of water). And she knew they will do if she met any of them ever again.

"*Gulp*, B-black Rabbit hope that if she meets any of those three again they wouldn't be so angry at her…" She said while cowering in fear even though they can't reach her. For now.

**[Location: Unknown Dam]**

Feh, this is a waste of time. Anyway, where the hell am I?

The scenery, climate, vegetation, and animals, no this isn't Japan. This is Europe. The country's probably… Greece? Or somewhere around it. Why the hell am I here?

...on second thought, I'm sending More Killing Intent to that stupid, ditzy, idiot rabbit.

...

Alright I'm satisfied. Now let's go and explore this place, maybe there's something interesting. Oh, is that a town there? Alright, let's go there.

As I walked there I reminisce what happened the last two years. I was summoned into another world. A world full of fantastical beings. Gods, Demon Lords (Demon Lords), Demons, Monsters, essentially anything legendary can exist there.

That world's name is Little Garden. If there's a word that could describe it, it would be "Paradise", so long as you're strong enough anyway. In there, everyone, in order to live, joins or make a community, some sort of group.

Other than that, there were also Gift Games, simply put it consists of making a game with a reward upon winning and punishment upon losing. Anyone can make Gift Games there with varying degrees of difficulties and rewards. To win you have to use your Gift, your Abilities, to fulfill the objectives without going against the rules.

In that world, I was called to help a community that had lost its name, flag, and members. The community, then called only as a 'No-Name Community', had lost everything thanks to a Demon Lord's challenge.

A Demon Lord's challenge cannot be refused, that was why they had no choice but to fight, no, play in the Demon Lord's game. Those Demon Lords on the other hand were powerful enough to reduce a community's land into a barren dessert as if it was destroyed hundred years ago.

And that's the main reason why I accepted to help them. It was interesting. To fight in many kinds of situations, against many kinds of enemies. I was so bared back before going there I wanted to just rampage around, that place however had so many interesting people and events in it. Too bad I have to return back.

There seems to be a time limit to be able to stay there. Black Rabbit said that it was the world trying to pull the person back to his world since he or she was originally a part of that world. If they went out for too long, it might try to get them back even if it means crushing them.

It's annoying but Black Rabbit also said that after a while, it's possible to come back there, she said it should be after approximately a year. Well, can't be helped I guess. In the meanwhile I'll just try to have fun here.

Oh? Is that a... city? …really? It's silent, way too silent. I'll just have to check it out I guess.

**~ Current Condition, Pass Situation ~**

**[Location: Deserted City of Boetia (12:32)]**

I came out of the newspaper stand that I just checked and start to confirm the information I just got. I have been exploring this place for around thirty minutes and there are a few things I noticed:

1. I am currently in Boetia, Greece.

2. It is too hot for Greece even though at this time of the year it shouldn't be too hot yet (Checked a newspaper).

3) The surrounding areas are completely empty, as if the all of the people just vanished (The newspaper stand was empty but it's still quite clean, so it wasn't a ghost town or evacuation).

4) Based on the sky, the time has somehow changed into dawn, when it should be noon (Also checked at the clock in the newspaper stand which is still running and many other places' clocks too).

All of this points to one possible conclusion on my head: This world of mine might not be very boring. Those phenomenon was probably caused by something of magical or supernatural in nature. Still, this situation reminds me of something…

That's right, Canaria said that this kind of situation ever happens then I should run away as fast as possible. She said there's something dangerous around if it ever happens. I treasured the times when she was still alive, she liked to tell me mythology tales with some interesting 'twists' that she said to be the actual truth. I never did know what exactly she did as a job though it's most likely related to mythology and history.

Canaria, she was one of the people who responded to a game I made years ago. I was so bored back then and made a game similar to hide and seek that if everyone failed to find me before the time limit was up, then I would rampage around because this world is just too boring.

She managed to found me just three minutes before the time limit. I was quite happy since that meant that there were a few people who were around my level in this world.

After that game, I made another game with her. If I were too win, then she would forever play with me and make a place for me to have fun, if I lose, then she wanted me to become her son.

The game, the conditions of which I let her decide entirely, was simple really. It pretty much consists of me going around the world and to find out whether Sakamaki Izayoi can feel care, love, and cry for someone else. I've never felt any of those before and I'd say, feeling them would be interesting so I accepted it.

I had traveled the world for two years as a child to find out about it and meeting with Canaria once every month since it was quite interesting to talk to her. In the end however, I lost. I actually managed to feel care, love, and cry for someone. For whom? Canaria.

Just a few month before the time was up, she already fulfilled her end of the bargain 'just in case' she actually lose. She made a place for children like me to gather and live. I was rather suspicious but A-Okay with it.

Then I realized why she made that place. Because she knows that she will die soon and will not see how our game will end. Just a week before the time was up, I visited her and found out that she was dying. She only held out to wait for me to come, to announce that our game will end right when she died.

The next day, she died with a smile on her face. And I let out a drop of tear. I realized that I also care for her and love her as my mother. In the end she had won, with the first two challenge was already fulfilled a long time ago most likely. If she had not make that challenge, I probably won't have a single care about other people now.

Still, I never did found out what was her work. Her like of talking about mythology, and her warning which is a bit supernatural in nature… Was she a magician or something?

The circumstance of her death was a bit suspicious after all, something that I noticed even when I was a kid. Let's see, there was that blonde girl that looks a bit like Asuka in her funeral, maybe if I ever find her I can find out about it.

Not that it really matters since she's dead and I'm already caught in the situation she probably wants to prevent. On that note, I do realize that I become rather reckless since her dead, something which I had realized after challenging Japan's Strongest Martial Artist, said only to be second to the Strongest Martial Artist of the World. For some reason, both were women.

***BOOM**BAM**BANG**BOOM***

Explosions? Since I'm already 'caught' in this situation, I think I should look for it.

**~ Not a Boring World ~**

**[Location: Foot of a Mountain (13:09)]**

Well, what do have we here? A big werewolf that uses magic and an army of wolves and skeletons battling against a guy with flames that's shaped like a phoenix around his body? This would be interesting. Still, I think I should observe a bit more first.

"Hmph, is that all you have, flame god? Disappointing."

The werewolf speaks in English then transforms into an old guy with a devilish face. His hair is white while his nose and ears are a bit weird, it's a bit long and pointy. Wonder if he was younger would his ears looks like an elf's?

"You yourself is disappointing. Thirty minutes of fighting me but no hit at all?"

That yakitori guy mocks back at the old guy. He's got a point though, it is kind of pathetic to fight for thirty minutes without a single hit. I squint my eyes to see a bit more of his features: shoulder length blond hair, red eyes, Caucasian skin, and black regal-looking longcoats. Damn, he got style.

"No, I was just focusing on your true nature. You're not a real phoenix, so any Feng-Huang and other phoenix related myths are out."

"Oh? How did you noticed?"

"It's simple, your flame is just too irregular, even more so when I attack you. Thus, it is most likely an artificially made phoenix aura, ergo you are not a real phoenix. Hmp, did you truly think that I, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, the oldest and most experienced among current Campiones to not realize it? I am three centuries old for a reason, fool."

"I see, I guess it's natural for you to notice that trick."

Let's see what I get from that conversation. The flaming guy is a god, a flame god that use the image of a phoenix as a trick to make other thinks he's a phoenix.

The old guy, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, is a Campione, whatever it is, which apparently immortal or naturally long living if he's telling the truth. These 'Campiones' also seems to fight mythological creatures, including but not limited to gods.

All right, I've heard enough, it's about time I make my entrance to this party.

"Heh, you guys seems to be having some fun! I'm sure you don't mind—"

I shouted while jumping towards them,

"—If I join on the party, right?!"

and kicked right where they were going to meet in a punch, making a crater while they retreat back.

"…a human? Kranjcar, did you not said that there are no other people in this Divine Space?!"

"Yes, milord! I have confirmed that there are indeed no other people than us in this Divine Space!"

A silver-haired cute girl replied after leaping and bowing in front of Voban. What's a cute girl like her doing serving an old guy like him? What a big waste. You can find many of the sexy type in the internet but I doubt you can find a cute fairy-like girl like her even if you google or browse facebook for days. Exception: 2D girls, but those aren't real. Hrn? Well, what a sneaky god.

"You, human, I know not of how you are able to intrude here, however, you shall remove yourself from my sight lest I kill you and turn you into one of my undead servants."

"Oh? That's very nice of you, wrinkle face," Oh, he twitched! "but rather than worrying about what's on your sight, shouldn't you worry about what's not on your sight?"

He quickly understand what I meant and notices the flame god is flying away. He's just descended into the other side of the mountain, out of our view.

"Kranjcar! Make sure that you deal with this human! I shall go after that coward god!"

He shouted annoyingly before leaping away to chase the escaped god before adding something again still chasing the god.

"And make sure that he will not make any more problem in the future! I care not of how you do it, just make sure he doesn't or I shall turn you both into one of my Dead Servant!"

What an annoying guy. It's not even my fault that the God got away, it's his for taking his eyes off his opponent. Seems like the age factor did kicked in, making the 'highly experienced Campione' forgets such a basic thing.

"Understood, Lord Voban!"

And now, after a while, he disappeared into the distance. Now then, how should I deal with this girl? Just smash her? Disable her fighting ability? Knock her out? Tie her with something?

The girl then spoke, interrupting my train of thought.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?"

"The name's Izayoi, Sakamaki Izayoi. As for how, I fall from the sky into the nearby lake."

"A Japanese? Do you think I would believe that?"

She switched to Japanese after knowing that I am one, probably because of the name. Before, I had been using English since they all have been using it.

"Not at all. But what do I gain from lying to you? Besides, why can't you believe my explanation when there are more 'unbelievable' things going on around here?"

"*sigh* Very well, I shall believe you for now. Now then, I would like you to leave this area and go to-"

"Before that, mind giving me an explanation here? You can say that I don't know the gravity of the situation here."

After a moment and another sigh, she decides to comply. She explains about Heretic Gods, Campione, and the current situation.

First about [Heretic Gods]. Due to the [Myths] humans have passed along from ancient times, [Gods] were born from those [Myths]. [Heretic Gods] however, they rebelled against the core of their [Myths] and materializes on earth.

They appear in places unrelated to their myths and bring great disaster. Simply by being present, the god's influence will cause great detriment to the human world around it. If a sun god appears the earth can become a scorched hell, if a war god appears war can actually happen, or if a death god appears then pestilence can spread, etc., etc.

Moreover due to the 'twisting' of their [Myths] by both humans and fellow [Gods], they can have many aspect that would easily leads to more influence and powers. The thought of killing such creatures are foolish since mortal weapons and spells can't even scratch them.

Second, about Campione. They are the supreme rulers. Since they can kill a celestial being, he can therefore call on the highly divine powers held by the gods. They are lords. Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore have the power to dominate the mortals on Earth.

They are devils. Since they transcends the boundary of reason and common senses by killing a deity, a being that is impossible to be killed, none can oppose them save for other [Campiones] or [Gods]. Those that aren't might as well be ants before them and they can demand the most ridiculous things from them as long as he does his duty of defeating [Heretic Gods]. Which they would have done anyway since most of them are battle maniac.

Third, the current situation. The eldest and cruelest of the current Campiones, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, is currently hunting a god of flame formerly thought to be of relation to a phoenix that had appeared somewhere in Italy, around Sardinia. The elder Campione had managed to later track him into Boetia and later confront him here in the foot of Mount Parnassus, in Phocis.

The god seems to not want anything to do with fighting and all he did was evading the battle lusting Campiones attacks, occasionally burning one of his minions that got too close to him until I disturbed them just when they both decided to try to trade punches.

Under normal condition such a thing would guarantees a horrible death for me and a horrible punishment for her blunder, however due to the god using that time to escape he didn't have time to do so.

"However, as I have said, Lord Voban is known as extremely cruel to the pint of titled [Balkan's Devil]. I would like you to immediately leave for both of our sake. If you do not comply, then I shall force you to, I cannot guarantee your health in that case however."

**~A knight's Honor (Vs Liliana)~**

**{Music : ****Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird by ****雨霧/Amagiri (Cherry Petal Illusionary Music)****}**

"With force huh… then why don't you try? Show me your best!"

I have been really bored back before I had been summoned to Little Garden.

After all even the strongest martial artist of Japan, Naoe Momoyo, formerly Kawakami Momoyo, was unable to defeat me. She was strong but she said that my ability seems to disrupt her Chi so she can't properly use her Regen skill or something. On that note currently I'm a bit high since I had just beaten Shiroyasha yesterday.

Well, it was a pure physical contest and I had already grown stronger and used _it_ too, but that's not the point. The thing is, I might become a bit 'loose' and slightly lose control of myself here.

"You seems to be strong so don't fall too quickly, I am after all among the strongest in this world and my blood a bit rushed right now!"

I shouted as I jumped and kicked downwards at her but she quickly evaded.

"Chi, don't say that I haven't warned you. _My wings. Steel that becomes the form of my phantom blade! Il Maestro, grant me power!_"

Ooh, summoning a sword from thin air, neat trick. But that won't be enough!

"No, no, you got it all wrong. It's not that you warned me, it's that I who had warned you! I am not kidding when I said I'm among the strongest!"

I quickly dashed to in front of her. She widened her eyes in surprise but managed to block a quick yet weak left jab I thrown at her. It thrown her away about 6 meters. While she's surprised, I immediately rushed to her left side.

"Say, isn't it a waste? You're not half bad and you seems to be a righteous person too. Why serve such a useless master?"

It puzzled me a bit. I think someone like her would rather choose an honorable master than someone as atrocious as that Voban oldie.

"A knight cannot choose its master!"

"Heh, you got that wrong. A true knight would only serve a worthy master. His honor is more important than anything! He would rather die than serve an unworthy lord, no matter what other reason that may try to force to do such a thing, his honor is still more important!"

Indeed, a knight's life revolves around their honor. Whether in western or eastern with the samurai's bushido, it's still about honor even if the method is different. One thing that is the same is that true knights and samurai would only pledge to a worthy lord which they will then serve in their whole life, should he fall later on, then they would try to correct their master's mistakes even if they would die doing so.

And she was doing the whole knight business wrong by saying that. I just did her a favor and point it out for her. While still fighting, of course.

Her mind should be rather chaotic right now but she still fights back with all her ability. Her skill, it was truly worthy of praise. I've seen many sword masters both in this world and Little Garden. Asuka had gotten quite good at using swords but she still holds no candle to her in terms of pure skill. She can react nicely even while her minds is not exactly on focus right now.

That didn't mean that she wasn't having a hard time though. Parrying is not possible thanks to my strength so she would only block when she have to and avoid the others.

Sidestepping to her right when I launched a left hook, ducking my right jab, blocking my leg sweep but immediately used the knockback to add more distance. Even if she was losing when I was still holding most of my strength – although not as much for my speed – she is fighting back quite nicely. Even more importantly is that while she is losing, she is doing it with absolute grace and beauty.

Both of us knew who would win. And yet she chooses to go down fighting. I guess that talk about knight's honor got into her head huh. Well, that's very good! It's more interesting this way!

I felt a smile, not a simple chesire smile but a slasher smile crept into my face. I amend my statement two years ago, my world is not as boring as I thought. It might be interesting had she had the time to prepare herself but no use crying over spilt milk.

"Kuh… _Wings of Artemis, grant me the blessing of the flight!_"

Was that another magic? Oh, she used a spell, it seems to be a spell to jump or to fly, probably the later. She use it to make some distance between us. Guess she's making some time to prepare herself. Sure, why not give her? If anything it'll make this fight more interesting.

"This next spell might kill you, I shall ask again, won't you just leave quietly?"

She asked of me. That's a foolish question. The answer was obvious... My answer was a simple snort.

"I see… then, prepare yourself! _From the blood of the slain, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back! From the fat of the mighty, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied! Oh, For I wonder if the heroes have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan's Bow, for you are a vessel of the hero, swifter than eagles, stronger than lions! With all speed, dispatch your enemy!"_

Hoo, even I can feel the power she's gathering. Her sword then become a bow. Four arrows are shot from it at the same time. It seems to be strong but… "Not happening!" I simply just smash it with my hands. All of the arrows shatters like it was made of glass.

"Impossible! Those arrows, they are strong enough to harm gods! Just what…"

She was at a disbelief at my power, she then keep shooting arrows at me, which I just punch into pieces. As she was starting to regain her focus, I was already running near her. She immediately turned her bow back into sword.

"Just one bored guy looking for some fun."

However, I have been playing for too long. It is time for me to end this.

"Well, that was pretty good but it's about time I finish this."

I finally reached her who was preparing to defend. I then simply just kicked upwards with my left leg to the hand that held her sword with greater strength and speed than before.

Surprised by it, she could only put a shocked face as her sword flew out of her hand, spinning around in the air vertically and finally landing on the ground the sharp point first. It won't be cool if it isn't so I deliberately tried to make it like that.

The same kick also disturbed her balance since she was in the process of doing a heavy strike at me, just little 'poke' on her right leg and she fell. I then put my foot just to the left of her neck.

"So, you still want to continue?"

"…And why should I? I would lose in the end anyway and also I am indebted to you for pointing my mistake."

Wow, now that's new, a person thanking me for ass-kicking them. Are you M or something?

"Of course not! It's just that I really think that I am wrong in simply just going along with my grandfather and be his knight even if it benefits our organization very much."

So she was told by her granddad to do it huh. On that note she's quite cute when panicking.

"W-What are you saying?!"

"…what, shouldn't you be flattered? I am calling you cute."

"Of course I am, but-"

"You can complain later but first, here."

I gave her a hand and help her stand. She then dusted her clothes off. Hm? Oh, she's blushing. Could this be something like 'Liliana First Flag GET!' or something like that? Meh, Whatever.

"While I think that you should try to find a good master to serve, I think you should stand by for a while and search for the correct master before rebelling unless you really have to."

It's all useless if she died doing it after all. Besides, modern knight shouldn't be too uptight. She was about to protest but I interrupted her.

"So, isn't time you show yourself, slimy flame god?"

"Huh?"

She looked confused when I said that and try to follow my gaze and see something unexpected there.

**{Music: ****Lord of Neatherworld (Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne)****}**

The flame god that I know to have never escaped from here appeared again in the place I'm looking at. He was mostly transparent and undetectable before and even now, but at least he's visible now. So let's see, he can become transparent, use and control fire to the point of able to emulate phoenix wings, and can make clone huh? Troublesome, though admittedly, interesting.

"Ohoho, how did you know I am still here? I have the trait of Anonymity and I have made that that second body was completely like myself to the extent of having exact aura signature, so how did you found me?"

"That's easy, most people would only look for the aura to find out if it's real or not, I myself would have been tricked if I did that but I didn't.

I was interested in knowing not how powerful you are but how dangerous you are if I try to take you on. Surprisingly that clone's power level while extremely high, it had a low danger level.

Then I noticed during the battle that this place felt slightly more dangerous than your clone. When I realized that you're here, I could then see you."

The guy looks pleasantly surprised and then laugh heartily, if a bit madly.

"Hm, ahaha, ahahahaHAHAHA! I see, I see! I've never noticed that flaw. Yes, yes, for people with extremely high instinct for danger such as Campione, they might notice it _if_ they don't immediately try checking the aura's signature. Never once have someone tried such a thing thus I never notice it myself!"

"So, do you want to fight or something? I'm quite interested in testing my abilities against a God."

It might be interesting, even if I die doing it. Our cute littlreknight has a different idea however. But even when was about to protest…

"What!? Are you c-" "Very well. I am rather interested myself."

Liliana could only gape her mouth and look at both of us. Both of us were smirking at the prospect of battling each other. On my side, I want to see the power of this world's gods, on his side he's curious about me who managed to find a flaw in his stealth. Oh yeah, we're both enthusiastic about this idea.

"You can't possibly be serious! Are you crazy!? He's a god, he's not something a human can fight!"

"Well, what if I have a way of fighting it then?"

"Oh, interesting. Then we should fight at sunset, at the city of Panopeus. Ask the girl how to get there."

Panopeus? Does he have a connection with it? Wait, Panopeus, flame god, Greek. I see, it was kind of obvious but since everyone thought he appeared at Sardinia they hadn't thought that it might be Greek in origin.

"Heh, well see you later then Prometheus-san."

Snorting, he then became transparent again and leave immediately, although the Divine Space hasn't disappeared yet. Probably because Voban is still chasing his clone.

"So, can you tell me how to get there? And don't waste your breath, you can see that I won't change my mind."

"…You… have you lost your mind? That, that man, is a GOD. You are a HUMAN. There's no way for you to win against him."

Then what about those Campiones?

"They're… they are exceptions…."

"That's not a valid argument there. If they could, then logically speaking, anyone could, right? On that note, I really do have a way of beating him, don't worry about it."

I said that but I know he is beyond my level. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when the time comes. And hopefully that bridge won't be the same as the one in Mount Osore (read: the Sanzu River). Then again, since it's me, I probably have too much sin and won't be allowed to cross using the bridge.

"You… you're the same as those two… As idiotic as Salvatore Doni, as stubborn as Erica Blandelli, and as crazy as both…"

"Is that so? I'd like to get acquainted with them if I could. So, ready to tell me now?"

"I still think it's idiotic, but I'll tell you." She then take out a phone and show me the entrance to Panopeus and how to get there. Apparently there's a strong magic seal on the stairs which lead to the now-buried-under-the-ground city but it should have disappeared if he really is challenging me.

"Alright, thanks for the tip. This where we split, you still need to find the suitable master and stay alive so you will need to return to him while I need to answer his challenge. You would die if you follow me, whether I win or lose, either because of Voban or from crossfire."

"Even so…"

"I picked this fight and I want to finish it. And to bring a beautiful young maiden such as you into it when it might harm you would leave a bad taste in my mouth." While blushing, she tried to open her mouth again.

She really is the stubborn type. Troublesome, but not exactly unwelcomed. Should I concede to her wish though...?

1. Let her come

2. Do this alone

...

Well, I may be an inconsiderate guy sometimes but even so, I have my limitations and standards.

I won't let her come.

"Also I have a pride as man too you know, isn't fair for me to keep my pride when you keep yours?"

With that kind of argument, she just can't help but concede. More importantly, she doesn't need to get dragged into this just because of my recklessness. Though it may be not much, I still have the decency not to harm or drag innocents to danger just because of my fun.

"*sigh* Fine. Still, I shall ask for another mage organization to check on you there by midnight. Sakamaki-dono, please stay alive so I may repay my debt."

She turn around seemingly preparing to leap or dash. But I stopped her and throw her my headphone.

"Keep it safe will you? Wouldn't want it to get broken again from the fight, it was hard enough repairing it from last time. And you yourself stay safe so I may use the favor."

Nodding, she then leapt into the sky and flied away. Not long after that the Divine Space disappeared and the color went back from orange-ish to normal while the heat is replaced with fresh winds. Taking a deep breath to refresh myself, I then head to the place of my death match with a god.

Heh, this party's keep getting more and more interesting.

**~Prelude to Genesis~**

**[Location: Underground City Panopeus (15:33)]**

**{Music: ****Sky of Scarlet Perception (Touhou 10.5 Scarlet Weather Rhapsody)****}**

The entrance to the City was a cavern. It wasn't that wide unfortunately and it's damp too. It makes me feels lazy. Had it was a bit wider, I would've have fun running through it. Running through a small yet not too cramp space is fun. Back at school I often run through the corridor from time to time. Still, the downward angle of the cavern seems too sharp. Hm, 'the Light at the end of the tunnel' eh?

Coming out from the cavern I saw a wide, Underground City. No, scratch that, a wide, Shining, Underground, _Capital_. It was wide and there are some 5 story buildings. And all of this city, they are all shining. I definitely does not want to meet the people who had lived in here. They must've been sparkling like those Twilight vampires.

Looking up, I saw that the ceiling is quite far up ahead. Calculating the range between the ceilings to the ground up there seems to be only 150m give or take 25.

The reason it was able to hold its weight is probably either due to magic (When there are magic, the handwave 'a wizard did it' is always plausible unless stated otherwise. Convenient.) or maybe because it was made of some ridiculous material capable of supporting its weight and who-knows-how-many tons of the weight of the things on the surface (despite the illumination from the shining city, the ceiling's pitch black in color).

Oh and there's a fading relief on the ceiling. It seems to be a figure with many wings and heads, two each, maybe more since most of them has faded.

Well, whatever, my purpose here is neither sightseeing nor admiring the city. Nope, it was to kick some flame god's ass. Oh, I know he's still beyond me, even if I had managed to defeat Shiroyasha, but isn't that the challenge

The reason why I didn't fight her the first time around was because I know she's beyond me and I still have other opportunity to do so after gaining more power and experiences. This time? It's a once in a lifetime chance. If I don't challenge him here and now, that Sasha old head would've defeat him before I have the chance to do so.

Five minutes later, I found a coliseum in the middle of the city. It's very similar to the one in Rome, but this one looks stronger and obviously, shinier. Honestly, what's with this city?

All this shiny and glittering are starting to creep me out. If it was from some orb, lamp, or fire then it's fine, but it's the buildings and grounds themselves that is emitting those lights. It reminds me of stars since star emits light instead of reflecting them like most other astronomical objects.

The unnatural coldness of this place aren't helping either. Usually places with a lot of light are hot, but here it's cold like it was winter. Is this really a place connected to a flame god?

Finally reaching the arena, I saw the flame god in the center and once again I must admit, he got some style. Most people would wait their enemy in impatience or in solemn. Him? He's sitting on a cool chair that looks like a king's throne while drinking coffee. And by the smell, it was those damn expensive Luwak Coffees.

"Yo, Prometheus, you got another glass of those coffee?"

"Hm, oh, you're here. Yep sure, here."

He materialized another glass and I take it while rising and eyebrow.

"What? You should be courteous to your guest, especially if you're a god, right?"

Yeah, I agree with him. Seeing his attitude seems like we're of the same wavelength. Too bad we're going to be fighting to the death soon.

"Yeah, too bad indeed. But at least we're going to have fun, right?"

Of course we will. If you're going to do something, then make sure that it's fun. Don't do it if you won't enjoy it. If you don't then you better have good reason to do it. That's the motto of people like us.

"So, what exactly is your reason to battle me? Other than because it's fun and interesting of course."

"It's easy, 'cause I'm really bored. Against those Campiones, if that Sasha old bastard is a standard then there's probably only one or two that I can battle against and win. Against normal people? I can easily defeat them with my Gift."

"Gift?"

"Something like those [Authorities] but I had it since I was a kid. Never really found out what exactly it was or how it works, but it gives me the strength to destroy heaven and earth and also other's gifts. What I know is that it makes me stronger than most people, or any other creatures out there."

"Boredom from being too strong huh? However, unlike the recently defeated Veretheragna, you don't seek defeat. You simply just seek fun and challenges. I see, I see."

He then stood up,

"Well, I guess that's enough talk I guess, now then, have at you!"

He shouted and thrown his cup at me which I evaded by tilting my head. I wonder did he played Akumajou Densetsu or something?

**~The Flames of the Great Star (Vs Prometheus)~**

**{Music: ****Beauty as a Beast by Sadohara Kaori (Mondaiji-tachi Insert Song)****}**

Emitting a huge Aura, he declared,

"Thy who choseth to challenge this one, demonstrate thy strength and intellect lest I burn thou with these flames of heaven!"

Before then emitting a very bright and hot flame. So those are the divine flames of the gods, huh, not bad. Not bad at all.

I dashed behind to evade the flames he emitted.

"No, it's you who should show your strength. Not that it matters since in the end, I'm the one that's going to leave a footprint on your face!"

I declared back to him. Flexing my arm, I dashed and put out the flames using my gift.

"Thou shalt not underestimate the power of we, the Gods! For we art those who rules over mankind!"

He replied while covering the ground around him with blue flames and shooting me with barrages of white flames.

"Heh, that sort of thing doesn't matter, since there are none who rules over me!"

Each and every flames he threw, I smashed it with punches powered by my gift.

My gift, even the Laplace Fragment of Little Garden doesn't know what it is. Laplace was a great scientist, even called the Newton of French. He is very pivotal to the advance of statistics. One of his works was about the Laplace's Demon, which in summary says that if something knows everything about the present then it is possible to calculate everything about the past and the future.

If the Laplace in the 'Laplace Fragment' was really related to it, then for it to not know anything means that my gift was truly foreign and alien.

Still, doesn't mean that I didn't know how to use it. It's simple actually, it creates force fields that generates kinetic energy and destroys other gifts or things created by it.

I could control the generated kinetic energy completely, whether I want it to be strong, weak, piercing, smashing, limited spreading, spread through all part of the object, things like that.

The destroying other gift part happens gradually, weakening it with each hit although I can make it so strong it can annihilate gifts in a single strike.

The force field itself could be used as a fireball like projectile or armor, but I mostly only use it on my body, similar to how electricity moves your body, it's easier and feels more natural that way.

I simply use it to destroy these flames, which seems also counts as something created by a gift. Authorities and Gifts are more similar than I thought, I guess.

After punching 5 of those flames – which were damn hot I tell you – I jumped into the air. Those blue flames were definitely hot, there's no way I would approach him from the ground which is covered in it, that was why I jumped high to the air, flipping and punching all the flames he shot at me while getting closer to him.

Once we got close enough, I punched at him while he also punched back. Then, he went away a bit far from me, while spreading more flames to the ground. I put away the flames around me with a sweep of one spin kick, but damn it's still hot. If we keep going by this pattern, the whole arena would either be full of flames or too hot. Then I have to do a rapid attack with no chance for him to move around.

Once again I went into the air, this time with a much quicker diving kick.

It's convenient that I could use my gift to create kinetic energies as a propulsion device. It allows me to move my body faster and in ways that no other people can. With that, many techniques that cannot be done in the real world can be done, like diving kick. If I apply it into my enemies, juggling them in the air aren't anything hard to do at all.

Hm? He didn't evade it? Instead he blocked with his right hand and charged his left hand with fire. He punched me with it, it doesn't hurt me too much but I had to use both hand to block it and also fell into the ground which is covered in the hot blue flames. I immediately extinguish them with a sweeping kick. While it prevents me from getting burned, the heat still stays around me thanks to convection.

"…Interesting. Thy so called 'Gift' couldst weaken mine's Authority."

Oh? So, it can, huh? Now that I look at it, the flames had become slightly less hot and bright. Still, this guy is starting to get on my nerve.

"Oi! Stop shooting and flying around and come here! I can't fly, you know!"

"Ahahahahaha! Surely thou jokes. I art a long-range fighter and one who fight with intellect! Still, for once, I shalt fight closely. Thou art the first person this one hast ever fought this way, do not disappoint."

He then land on the ground, and then he called upon flames that covers his whole body. After a moment of silence, both of us dashed toward the other. We traded punch many times. He seems to be boosting the power of his punches with combustions from the flame.

"ORAORAORAORAORA!"

I kept on punching at him despite the heat of the flames. If I didn't coat my hand with my Unknown Gift, it would've been toasted minutes ago.

Also, I had to use extra effort in using my Unknown Gift since I need to disperse the heat transferred into the air around me. Honestly, this is bad, in a battle of endurance, I would most likely lose. His Authority might be getting weaker and weaker as time goes, but at the rate this is going, I would've ran out of stamina first.

So, I made a gamble. I didn't block his punch this time. Damn, it hurts even with my Unknown dampening the force of the punch. It's like his hand was a pile bunker or something. Well, that made mine's comparable to a pile bunker too since our physical strength was pretty much equal. Physical defense? Not so much.

I could dampen the force of the strikes and to a degree repulse it with my Unknown Gift, he however, can't. That was the purpose of this gamble. To create an opening that I can use to strike with all my might.

When I didn't block back then, I had already been charging both hands with power as much as I can. I won't hold back here, I won't make it a knockback, strike, or spreading attack. No, I'm making it piercing, to have a high pressure and low spreading. I attacked right before the opening was closed.

"HAAAAA!"

***BOOM***

"Guah!"

It connected. But the sound, it wasn't the sound of flesh being pierced, nor did my hand managed to stab into him. No, that punch was somehow blocked, that was why he was thrown back instead of stabbed by my hand. He didn't block it with his hand, no, I was sure of it. It must be some sort of magic, a trick, a barrier of sort.

"Oi, oi, oi! I thought you were going to fight fist-to-fist!? You cheated just now."

"Gaha, *cough**cough*, that was because I thought you were a normal human. But this power, it is comparable to the strength of Hercules. It was a good thing that I took precaution by preparing a light-barrier."

He's back to speaking normally again. Was that old English speak just an act?

"Yep, *cough*, I'm not a conventional god, speaking like that was quite a pain but well, as one of the eldest gods I thought I should have some style. In any case, I shall go seriously now. I won't fly too high but I will use my other Authorities since my current Authorities has been weaken too much to be effective"

Once he said that, a dome made of darkness covers the whole arena while the ground was covered in ice. How the hell did Prometheus, a god of fire, thievery, and tricks able to control darkness and ice? No, it wasn't just darkness, he could control light too since he said he used a 'light-barrier'.

"What the hell? Aren't you Prometheus? Aren't these beyond your authority?"

"Ah, yes, myths of the olds tend to be twisted, thus we might gain new aspects and authority. The clues for the aspect I am using were spread in this city."

He smirked as he said that to me. Spread around here? Wait, that engraving in the ceiling! What was it again? I remember that it had heads and wings but many of it has faded into the darkness of the ceiling. I tried to recall more details from the faded parts. The heads… there were two, no, three. The wings… at least four. Three heads, at least four wings, darkness.

Oh! I understand it now. So that was why this city was shining like a star and is very cold.

"I see. You were not just Prometheus! As time passes the unknown hero, the ultimate martyr of the old who brought flames, light, and freedom was twisted by the Christians into the tales of Satan and Lucifer!

Just like Prometheus, he challenged God. Some said that he did it for the sake of freedom, others said because of pride, what is the same is that he was then defeated, fallen, and chained into a place until the time comes for him to be freed!

Your myth has been twisted from the heroic god into the fallen devil!"

"AHAHAHA! Very good, very good! I see that you have some brains, but I wonder, would knowing my aspects help you at all?"

As he said that a 'star' lit in the sky, it then shot itself into me though I punch it. It wasn't just light or something, it was a freeze bomb coated by a light-barrier. This will be hard.

"I will give you ten second to prepare yourself."

He added as numerous stars lit in the darkness of the sky. I immediately unfroze my hands with my Gift.

"This is the first barrage, try not to get yourself killed too quickly."

***SHOOT**SWISH**BOOM**BANG**BOOM**SWOOSH***

Dammit! This is like playing a Bullet Hell Game without any way of shooting! And he also have many types of shots too. Freeze bomb, icicles, ice stones, combustions, flames, pure darkness, and pure light. I tried to evade most of them and punch the others, but some of them were quite unnoticeable. The frozen ground doesn't help either.

I evade to the left, away from a dark shot. I do not want to find out the effect of that shot. I then punched another shot which was a freeze shot and immediately unfreeze myself. I wasn't fast enough however as an icicle came to me, forcing me to punch it with still frozen hand. The force and the fact that I haven't properly unfreeze it shredded my left hand.

Viewing my surroundings, I saw that most of the shots were aimed around me. That was why, I jumped.

Many missed me and some were re-aimed to shoot upward into me. I used the ice stones and icicles to move around and evade the other shots and then I dropped into the ground, passing a flame shot which slowed me down enough to miss the combustion shot below it but still fast enough not to get shot by the light shot. It seems that I made through the first barrage.

"Oho. Very good indeed. To think that you actually managed to get pass the first barrage. But how will you fight now? Your left arm is wounded quite badly."

"What are you talking about? This is the perfect handicap for this fight!"

"Hoh. You really like to talk big. You will not win unless you use your full strength, hum-."

***FWOOSH***

My attack missed. Chi, what an annoying guy.

"Talking isn't a free action, you know."

Thought I could use it as an opening to attack. This guy seems to be at least as smart as me, combined with the fact that he has more experience than me and a long-range specialist, he's among the worst possible enemy I could have fight.

But…

Isn't that the fun?

**{Music: ****Flames Within These Black Feathers by Merami (palette)****}**

It's exactly because he's not a weak enemy that I want to battle him. This world, I thought it was boring. But if there are a lot of strong people like him, than I have to revise my opinion. This world is FUN!

***SWOOSH**BAM***

"Gahg-"

In my ecstasy, I jumped toward him in a speed higher than I ever used before. I managed to hit him this way. But instead of punching him or using my Gift to seal or destroy his Authority, I chose to have fun.

***CRUSH**CRACK**CRACK*CRACK***

"AHAHAHAHA, AHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHA!"

I laugh madly as I drag him across the floor. I use my wounded left hand to drag him across the floor. The pain doesn't even register in my mind 'cause I am having so much fun right now. This is it. This is what I look for, something that surpassed me. The people that I fought in Little Garden might have been strong, some were hard to defeat, but this guy, I don't have a single chance against him.

Against Shiroyasha I still have a chance no matter how small, this guy however, against this guy the condition's stacked too much against me that I can't even see victory at all.

For someone who had always won, someone who was born winner like me, this is the ultimate delight. To find something beyond you, better than you, impossible to conquer, and then ACTUALLY BEAT IT. THAT is the ultimate fun for people like me.

***THROW**BAM***

"*cough**cough*, have you went mad or anything?"

"No—"

I smiled the widest slasher smile I've ever worn.

"—Not at all. I am just, having fun!"

I jumped towards him but he already called another barrage of projectiles against me. HAHAHAHA! That doesn't matter I'll just have to crush them all with my hands, if not, with my feet, honestly even my head would the job just fine. I will not let anything stand between me and my fun.

***BANG**CRASH**BOOM**SHATTER***

"…Are you really human?"

He asked me that question. I've been asked that question so many times now. Honestly, as of now, I'm not so sure whether I am still human or not.

"Don't—"

I said as I ducked below the barrage, then punched to the left.

"—even know, myself!"

Jumping using an icicle, I then dive kicked into an explosion shot.

"Taxonomically still human, though."

Still, by now I already have so many wounds I should've already fallen. Guess madness has it perks, huh? He immediately add some distance between us after seeing me like this.

"…Oi."

"What?"

"Aren't you bored too? I can see that you're always thinking and making plans to win since physically you're not as strong as many other gods. Don't you ever want to just go wild without thinking about anything? Other gods and Campione might be stronger than you, but against me, we're evenly matched if we both go wild. So, how about it?"

"…hm, ha, ahaha, AHAHAHAHA! That is indeed a very good idea. I see, we're the same, huh? Just a trickster who wanted some fun. Since you want it so much…"

Both light and darkness gathers around him, forming six black and white wings. Then, he turns into a blue skinned giant with six wings. So he's going to use all of his power, huh. Alright, you're on, Prometheus.

"Let us…"

"Have some…"

""FUN!""

Both of us then jumped towards each other, punching. Both of us punched, none of us dodged. I dampened his punch with my Gift while he's strong enough to endure my punch. Both of our punch are strong enough to kill normal people. Good thing that neither of us were 'normal' nor exactly 'people'.

"Gah!""Ugh…"

After backing away a bit and spitting the blood in our mouth, we once again move forward to punch the enemy. This time we didn't back away. That would be a complete waste of time. Instead, we simply just keep barraging punch towards each other, sometimes we add some kicks and head-butts too when we want it.

It isn't just normal attacks though. I used my Gift more than I usually does, it's at the point where it's hurting me even with my euphoria suppressing most of the pain. He on the other hand, combines all of his Authorities into his hands to power his punches. We're doing this while making a twisted smile on our faces.

This god… despite all of his legends its twists, his core was of fire and trickster. A passionate and burning fire that turns everything into ashes. A mischievous god who likes to play tricks just for fun and do some pranks because of boredom. Just like me. Me who was at the top of the world until recently. Me who search for anything fun to alleviate my boredom of sitting at the top. Both of us, we're the same.

***BAM**BOOM**BANG**BLAM***

We're just punching each other but the sounds make it seems that this is a war. This might be battles between gods or Campiones sounds like. It's interesting but honestly, I don't think I can keep up with the stronger gods and Campiones.

As of now, most of my bones have been broken. My attacks are getting weaker and weaker as time passes by. He too is getting exhausted and his attacks has been getting weaker and weaker. Most likely thanks to my Gift slowly destroying his Authority. And then, he shattered.

***CRACK**CRACK**SHATTER***

"Huff, huff…"

He returned into his normal form, huffing and exhausted. But not defeated.

***PUNCH**PUNCH***

I don't care about him being tired and weakened so I just went ahead to attack him. On the other hand, he's not as tired as I thought and tried to catch me off guard with his wounded form. That's why we both punched each other in a cross-counter. Instead of backing away, we grabbed each other's clothes and continue pounding our faces. After one strong punch we both back away.

"Huff, huff…" "Hah… hah…"

"You're… damn strong, human… no… what was your… name again? Ah yes... Sakamaki Izayoi."

"You're not… half *cough**cough* bad yourself, Prometheus."

"No… Prometheus is not my real name…"

"Then… what is?"

"I… am nameless *cough*. I came from before the concept of name existed…"

"…The fire worship."

"Yes… you might as well call me Egni, Paewr, Ignis, Pyr, Agni, Belenus, Svarog, heck… even Hestia, Vesta, Vulcan, and Hephaestus. Much of me, of the fire, has been separated or added, stolen and returned. But in the end… I am the Flame that is elder than even the concept of Hell. The flame that burns everything, the flame of light that is always pure and purifying."

"A nameless god… a nameless Flame…"

"Yes. But it seems that I will face my death here."

He stood straightly now.

"In all my battles I have always been able to create victory or at least a draw. But this fight, though I would most likely die here… it seems to be the most fun. Now then Izayoi…"

He spoke that name with a soft tone… like addressing an old friend…

"It is time to finish this."

Yes. The time has come. Will this be the end of everything? Or will this be the prelude into an Epic? The moment of truth is upon us.

He gathers flames in his hands. He doesn't even use his other Authorities anymore, no, this flame isn't even an Authority. It is all of his essence, the essence of the worshiped Fire. Then… I too have to use all of my power… my life. I gather all of my remaining power with all my will into my hand. The force field which is usually colorless now has a blue color and looks like a flame. Flame versus flame. How, fitting.

None of us knows who will emerge victorious, or if any of us will win at all. At first it seems impossible to defeat him. Then after we both went wild without thinking anything at all, I managed to weaken him greatly while I gained a mortal wound but still able to fight.

The fight definitely did not gone as anyone would have thought. As such, the end result is truly Unknown at this point. The flames within these hands are the ones that will decide the outcome.

""HAAAAAAAH!""

"SAKAMAKI IZAYOI!"

"PROMETHEUS!"

Our fists met. The world become white and silent. And then, an unearthly explosion came.

***SHIIING**KAABOOOOOOMM***

The world become black and we fell.

"Did—Gahag! Did I win…?"

"No… It is… a mutual defeat… nay, a mutual victory… for us both."

"I… see…"

I then fell unconscious… no, I most likely died. But before I am fully dead, I heard him saying something to me.

"Sakamaki Izayoi… you have my approval. Take this flame… this light… this darkness… everything! And go forth, pave your own road… but… you shall not be alone… I shall accompany you in this journey… Let us be revived together… BY THE CURSE OF MY SISTER!"

I then lost my consciousness, my life, my everything. But… I felt not a single fear, only peace. My wish has been realized… the ultimate fun… has been gained… I have won…

**~Birth of a New Star~**

**[Location: Boundary of Life and Immortality]**

**{Music: ****The Gensokyo That Floats in Outer Space (Trojan Green Asteroid)****}**

Just when I was feeling a huge amount of pain and prepared for death, the pain vanished and replaced by a… calming and serene feeling. Like there is nothing to worry about. I also felt something soft below my head… softer than any pillow I've ever used.

After a while, I opened my eyes. To my surprise, there is a woman with violet hair tied in a twin-tail hairstyle in front of me with a soft expression on her face. She reminds of the Pandora trapped within the Black Library from Dantalian no Shoka for some reason.

"…Who are you? …And shouldn't I be dead already?"

"I'm the all-giving woman, Pandora, also a true goddess unlike those Heretic Gods! As for why you're not dead, that's because you're being revived as one of my children, a god-slayer! That's why, you must call me Mama, alright?"

…Oh, well she IS Pandora. So that's why. Not as cute as the Dantalian version though. Should I humor her? Sure, why not?

"Sure, Mama."

"Of course you w- wait, did you really call me Mama?!"

"Yep. What, shouldn't I?"

"No, no, *hic*"

Did she cried?

"It's just that none of my children has ever called me Mama *sob*."

She really cried. Well, it makes sense that no one would call a person you just met as Mama.

"Ah… Epimetheus, finally we have a good child among who would call me Mama~." Now she's just being too dramatic.

"Oi little sister, shouldn't you start explaining the situation to him?" I hear another voice and saw… Prometheus.

"Brother-in-law, you don't understand at all, after more than two millennia, someone finally call me Mama now. Ah~ I can now die happily."

I sweat drop at that. Too over-dramatic.

"When you are practically a shinigami."

"No, I'm not! I am just a goddess who happens to reside in the Netherworld!"

…Wow, what a lovely close-knit family

"Are you blind?"

Situation-wise? Yes, considering that the people who were supposed to explain the situation to me were busy in some sort of ex-lover quarrel.

"Gah, don't remind me of that!" Wait, I was right? So Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Pandora were in a love triangle before Epimetheus won? "He cheated. At that time I was under Zeus' punishment."

"Whatever. So, I'm in the underworld now?"

"Ah, not quite. I would say that this place is the Boundary Between Life and Death, although we gods like to call it the Boundary of Life and Immoratality. Think of it as an 'almost-dead' realm or the Sanzu River, Styx River, Acheron River, etc., etc."

Pandora-mama explained to me. Hm, Acheron River-like realm, huh.

"Hee, Acheron River? So, for the ferry ride's cost… do you accept credit card or is it cash only?"

"Eh?"

"Puh- Ahahahaha! You found out that you're in the Netherworld and that's what you say? Now that's new!"

Pandora-mama was caught off guard by that question while Prometheus simply laughed since he know why I asked that question. You see, in an ancient tradition in Greece, people would put coins in the mouth of a deceased. This is to pay the obol, the cost/bribe, to get Charon to ferry you safely through the Acheron River. If myths were real, I do wonder if he would accept credit cards.

Anyway, I need some answer here.

"Heh, yes, yes, whatever you say. Now mind explaining the situation to me? Pandora-mama?"

"Ah, yes! Of course my dear child. You see, a long time ago-"

"Long story short, you killed me, you got my power and revived as a superhuman called [Campione]. Lame name if you ask me."

Agreed and nice explanation, I can piece the other parts myself now. Seems like since I killed him, I am going to be revived as that Campione Liliana had explained. Currently I am in some sort of Purgatory or Limbo of the sort, waiting to be revived.

"Hey, I was just going to explain it!"

"Your version would be too long. I shortened it and he should be able to piece the rest together. Am I right?"

Yep, understood most of this right now.

"Aaah, sheesh! Oh god,"

No, wait, aren't you're a god yourself?

"Why must my nicest child get along with my good for nothing brother-in-law?"

Don't ask me. Wait, she's not. She's asking 'god' whichever this goddess' 'god' is. And to call me a nice child… that's new. I think I should stop this stupid stand-up comedy, though.

"Err, Mama, can you please explain things more clearly to me, please? Without unnecessary details if you can."

I just called her Mama and divert the topic back to what I wanted to know. It wouldn't hurt to know more about the situation.

"Ah, certainly, dear child~. Ahem, well, you see I put a curse on Gods so that when they are killed by human, that human would become a god-slayer and gain the Authority the god commanded. The requirement is to beat that god in a fair fight, as you certainly did. However there is something different with the ritual this time. That would be explained by this problematic brother-in-law since he was the one responsible."

She ended with a sulking face. Different? Prometheus then step forward.

"Well, you see, the reason why I emerged from my myth was because I detected a catastrophe happening in the near future. After I retrieved the grimoire that holds one of my Authority in Sardinia and erasing the holders' memories, I then simply searched for a Campione to entrust my power to fight the oncoming catastrophe.

I was found by that Sasha Campione and then met you. After you have defeated me, I modified the Campione Revival Ritual a little bit. I am after all, one of the people who created the Campione Ritual along with this little sister and that brother of mine. I know the system like the back of my hand."

"That's nice of you to explain the backstory of your appearance and your knowledge of the Campione system, but mind telling me what did you modify?"

"Three things."

Of course, the rule of three.

"First I give you ALL of my power, including attributes, knowledge, and magic. Second your mastery of the Authority I give will start higher than average, allowing you to learn how to use their full potential, use more than one of them, and combine them quickly. Third, and personally the best, you see, the Campione Revival Ritual reforge your soul,"

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this. That does not sounds good…

"After all, you will have a new body, your soul would reject it since it is not the same one in its memories, reason why all Campione must visit the Netherworld at least once. What I modify in this process is, that I make it so that in the reforging process it would also bind my soul into your soul."

"What."

"The result is that I will also reside in your new body which naturally I also modified to be able to hold me within it."

"WHAT?! You did _what_ without asking me?!"

"I become some sort of alternate personality in your body. Honestly, if I didn't did it, it might've take me… between half to one millennium to be able to reappear. That's just how crazy that Gift of yours is, so it's your fault. I know that you wouldn't mind if I had just asked since we're very similar, but I don't have time to ask you. You've already passed out by then."

"…Chi. Fine, but I want some compensation."

"Of course, I'll help you with all my experience. Even though I said I transferred all of my power, that doesn't include experience, wisdom, and memories. I'm sure there will be times when it will be useful, especially when you would most likely hold back from spamming your Ultimate Attacks."

"Fine… ugh, I'm getting sleepy."

"The revival process should be almost done, then. Unlike other people, you have the ability to remember what happened in here since I am now fused with you.

That's… nice… don't want to forget anything… I found out here… Too sleepy...

"Well then, Sakamaki Izayoi, with this you are now my Eight Child, a Campione, a Rakshasa Raja, a Devil King, a God-Slayer. You are one who will bear the body and power of the righteous Flame known as Prometheus. Congratulations, and good luck."

"Thanks… Later, Mother…"

It was a sincere gratitude, something rare from me. She actually reminds me of Canaria, whom I never had the chance to call as my Mother. I then finally fell asleep.

"It's time for me to go as well. *sigh* You know, you could've told him."

"No, it is not the time yet. I want to just tell him but now is not the time. Maybe if we meet again here or if I ever venture out of this place again. Either way, it will take a while."

"Well, it's your choice. See you later, sister-in-law."

"Yes, brother-in-law, stay safe and don't be reckless."

"Hah! You know me, there's no way I would do that."

…

"I am sorry Izayoi-chan, next time we meet, I promise I would tell you the truth."

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Afterword: **

And there we go. Finally done.

So, were you able to figure out about Prometheus being Lucifer and Satan before The Reveal? There's a reason why I used Lucifer's theme (Lord of Netherworld) when he re-appeared. On that subject, try reading about Prometheus, then Lucifer/Satan and then switch your PoV of him into becoming a protagonist. I noticed the similarity after playing Nocturne (try reading his Megami Tensei profile) and remembering his name's meaning: Light Bringer. The god who brought fire, the angel who brought light, the devil who brought freedom. Interesting, right?

Now, let's address a few more things:

Voban not noticing Prometheus. Prometheus has an Anonymous trait (I'll explain it more clearly in the chapter after the next) which works similarly to Koumeiji Koishi's stealth ability. To notice him you must actively search him with your five senses. Izayoi got lucky since he noticed something is amiss with the situation and managed to locate him during his fight

Godou won't be appearing until the Perseus Arc. In exchange, he would quickly become more badass and not so slow-witted anymore after that. Ah, yes, I am already breaking a lot of canon and will break even more of them. Most events will at least be modified.

The excuse of Izayoi having to get back was based from Muv-Luv. In there, it's said that Takeru's original world is constantly trying to bring him back to his original world but his presence on the other world is anchored by the memories he shares with his friends there. The pull still exists but to be able to actually bring him back, someone must send him back by making everyone temporarily forget about him. In the case of this story however, the pulls are much more aggressive. After reaching certain limits, it would forcibly pull the person back to where they belong, even if that means killing them.

That's all I think. Oh yeah, I'm making the Foreword for a few answering and explaining while the Afterword is for comments and spoilery explanation.

* * *

**Extra: **Parameters

I am using a different Parameter system from the Fate series. I feel that the one in Fate series only concerns about the Parameters relevant to the Grail War and does not contain other Parameters that is important outside of the Grail War. The 'stats' parameters are all taken from the Wikipedia article Attribute (role-playing games) with minor modification. The 'Personal Skills' and 'Class Skills' are combined into one category, 'Perks' (Yes, I like Fallout) since some of them aren't exactly 'skills' or 'abilities' or 'techniques', so I'm just lumping them into one category.

I am also scaling the ranking into that of the standard in Campione-verse instead of compared to Fate characters or simply how many times it is from normal people (What measure is 'Normal' anyway? Is Chuck Norris 'Normal'?). Also for the magical ones like abilities or spells, it is graded not statistically but based on 'the Power of the Concept Used' which was how Fate/Prototype's Parameter system would've been. For the Campione-verse, in general it's something like this (for the physical/magical ones anyway):

E: Peak Non-Magical Human

D: Mages and Witches in General

C: Minor Divinity

B: Major Divinity

A: Full Divinity

EX: Off the Chart

It's nothing absolute, just a general comparison as even some Gods might have amazingly low parameter, just the standard. In term of speed for example, Speed of Lightning is A+++ which is in average around 87,000 miles per second. Above that would be EX. In terms of Strength, Godou's Bull would be B++ while Melqart's Herculean Strength would be A+. Here's pre-Campione Izayoi for example.

**Name:** Sakamaki Izayoi

**Class:** Human (?)

**Stats:**

Strength: B+ (Even before becoming a Campione, he is strong enough to match blows with some gods)

Constitution: C (Strong enough to endure the strength of most gods)

Dexterity: C (Fast and agile enough to keep up with Black Rabbit who is very fast)

Magic: - (He has no magical ability at all)

Intelligence: B (Has a lot of knowledge and has a high ability to process them)

Charisma: C (Despite his bad attitude, there aren't that much people who hate him and there are quite some people who would follow his instructions)

Wisdom: C++ (Despite his tendency to cause problem, he can be very wise sometimes)

Willpower: D-B+ (If he wants to do something, then it is high, if he doesn't then it is low)

Perception: B+ (His perceptions are very sharp, able to notice even the smallest thing)

Luck: A (A born winner)

**Perks:**

Eye of the Mind (False): B++ (Able to know the danger level of an enemy/place/situation immediately.)

Magic Resistance: A++ (Only applies when he punches the spell)

Battle Continuation: B+++ (Heightened when excited)

Librarian of Stored Knowledge: B (Has a really good memory bordering perfect memorization. Fitting for one who claims to know a lot of trivia.)

Presence Detection: C (Can detect most magically-concealed people)

Expert of Many Specializations: D+ (Gained from his travels. Includes many survival skills, combat skills, and intelligence skills.)

Nature of a Rebellious Spirit: D (He's rebellious, but he was much more carefree than he is rebellious. As such, his Charisma can affect the ones he wants, but someone of the other side won't be eager to try to get him)

Victorious One: C (A skill gained by those who were born winner or has gained triumph over the hardest foes and obstacles. It lessens the possibility of defeat and heightens the possibility of victory. At his level he will always have a chance to win so long as he is fighting in his best condition.)

**Abilities:**

- **Personal:**

/**_'Code: Unknown'_:** **(Rank Unknown)**

A mysterious ability that grants him the strength to match the heavens and destroy people's gifts/ability. A passive ability that is always active. It seems to work by creating force fields or a tactile telekinesis around him that generates/repulses a high amount of kinetic energy that also nullifies magic and destroys other abilities.

Works two fold with the field manipulating the energies and also reinforcing his body to handle the stress of such energies. Can be used as a Projectile but is weak when used so. Can also summon a light sword that can slash through anything.

/**Convert to Magic Skirt – _True Art Requires Imagination_: (E)**

The prize he asked for winning against Shiroyasha. Basically he can turns anyone's skirt into a skirt 'that is always almost see-able'. Long skirts will become short but the panties inside cannot be seen no matter how hard a person tries to see it. When no subtleties are left, then there is only vulgarity of panties behind. That is why, a true art requires you to imagine and venture into the unknown.

* * *

**First Published:** April 1st, 2013

**Last Edited:** June 17th, 2013


	2. 00B - Little Bird of the Waning Night

**Foreword:**

First of all, thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favs, it seems that my chronologically first story was quite well-received. Took me quite a while to finish this one because of a lot of things but mainly the Battle Scene. It's the best I can do for now after brainstorming how should the fight go. It at least fit my image of Izayoi being somewhat different from other Campiones and uses his Authorities in a creative way.

Now let's address a few things from the reviews.

Izayoi's Character might be a bit OOC but in my defense I only have the Anime and the recently started (and thus, few) baka-tsuki translation to work with so that means I only have some impressions of him. And Ousawa Akatsuki from Hagure Yuusha is closest I could imagine.

On that note, it's officially AU on the Mondaiji side now. It's also two years after he went to Little Garden, plus, it's AU so who knows what the hell happened during those two years. For one, he got his headphone repaired though only in shape; second, he re-sealed his power again; third, he didn't become a couple with anyone there. The rest is sealed in a Schrödinger's Cat Box.

For Voban, I admit, I totally forgot about his Wolves and Undeads. Though the end result would still be somewhat the same. What I thought was that between a meddling kid and a running God, he would prioritize the later. I just make it based on that and I only remembered about his wolves and undeads after reading Obersturmfuhrer's review. Though the mistake does gives me a nice idea.

Pairings have already been decided but no, it won't be a harem. Rather, it's more like a Multiple Route Galge. I have made two alternate routes for the girls that have appeared as of now complete with a scenario of what will happen. I'll post it on the discussion thread though it won't have full detail due to spoiler reasons. Harem is all fine but I want to get more into the characters' Deep Character and Character Development and making it a harem would feel rather shallow. In any case there _will_ be Romance but it's meant to show the characters developing and growing instead of mere shipping or fluffs. I think that it's actually closer to Drama than Romance.

Ah yes, I included quite some shout outs and references in this chapter. Only a few are obvious while for some you have to have read/seen the sources. In any case, that's all I have to say in the (long) Foreword, now, let's start!

* * *

**Chapter 00B – Little Bird of the Waning Night**

* * *

**~Egersis~**

**[Unknown Location (Unknown Time)]**

…

… …

… … …

_Oi, you're already awake, aren't you?_ A voice asked me. So, he really did fused himself into me… Yeah, I'm just being cautious. I passed out on top of stones, which anyone would testify to be hard and uncomfortable as hell to sleep on. And then, I wake up on a surface that is very comfortable, most likely on a bed. In other words, I was carried and moved by someone I most likely don't know into a place I most certainly I don't know. There, a valid reason, right?

_Don't even think of trying to lie to me. You're just being lazy._ Chi, what gave it away? _That's because I'm feeling lazy too._ …Back to sleep? _Back to sleep._

*CREAK*

Someone opened the door and entered the room. *sigh* And I was about to sleep too… Well, better get this over with. I opened my eyes and sat on the bed, looking at the intruder who had disturbed my sleep. The intruder was a young lady and she seems to have been slightly surprised by me waking up and looking at her. She then kneeled.

"Ah, your highness, I am sorry if I have disturbed your sleep, I had only wanted to check on you and wait for you to be awake."

"That's fine, but mind stop groveling and calling me 'your highness'? It annoys me."

"I see, I apologize if I-"

"And don't apologize either. It's always 'Sorry this' and 'Forgive me that' and 'I am not worthy'. Frankly, it's annoying. And before you do, don't avert your eyes. That would be so miserable."

_Someone gave respect to you like you're a King - which technically you are - and that's what you say?_ Yeah, so? _I agree with your point. Seriously, it can really get annoying._ Yeah, I mean it does kind of flattering, but when people are being like that, you can't even hold a conversation with them. Not to mention, seeing people kneeling and saying 'your highness' just like that makes me annoyed for some reason._ Indeed, after the few dozen times, it gets quite old unless you're a narcissistic guy. While most Heretic Gods want respect, some Gods like me were quite annoyed by it actually._

We spoke in our mind but to our… surprise, the young lady showed interest and bemusement at what I said.

"Hum, I see that you are at least better than _that_ person."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, is there any food? I'm hungry."

Even though I had eaten a lot before returning to this world. _Remember that this isn't your old body. This is a new body, in which you have never eaten anything._ So, since I have died and been reborn, the last time I ate would count as a Last Supper, huh? _Did you eat- _Breads? Yes.

"Of course, please follow me."

We then head out of the room with her leading me.

**[Location: Dining Room, March 29th (20:34)]**

Faced with many foods in front of me, I simply ceased any other thoughts. Though I was sleepy before, now that I'm fully awake and this hungry, it's natural that I'd prioritize filling my stomach over idle thoughts. I don't even care about how varied the food was and how tasty they were. Well, no, I still care about it, just didn't realize it. _Blatant Lies, if you don't then how could you comment about it?_ Oh shut up, you.

(Thirty minutes later)

"*gulp**gulp*, ah~, I'm full, I'm full."

"Did that satisfy you, milord?"

"Oi, just stop the formal speaking and the Noble Lady act, I can clearly see that it's just a façade."

The girl faked sorrow at my accusation.

"My, my, to say that it's just a lie, how cruel, sob."

Yeah, and that 'sob' just put the nail in the coffin. It's obviously fake, what kind of idiot would make such a pathetic act? _I don't know, maybe you?_ No, I have never done such a stupid and obvious act of fake crying. Nope. _Yeah, sure and I have never stolen any coff- _

And just who are you anyway, Ojou-sama? _(Aaand he cuts me off)_

"Hm~ despite how you look and act, you're surprisingly gentlemanly, calling me 'Miss' like that. Ahem, my name is Princess Alice Louise of Witenagemot, the British Mage Association. I holds the position of spokesperson and special consultant within the Witenagemot."

She introduced herself as Alice Louise and she's the spokesperson of her organization. Hm… she looks familiar somehow but I can't really remember where did I met her. After telling her my own name, I then asked her for an overview of the situation.

"Approximately twenty five hours ago, we received a request to check on the Underground City of Panopeus, it was reported that there is a Heretic God there. Imagine our surprise when we found a Campione there instead, laying asleep."

"And then your men brought me here. Where exactly is this place anyway?"

"This place is Witenagemot's Greece Branch's Headquarter. As Greece is a place with many mythologies and legends, there are many Magic Associations that have a Branch in it."

That makes sense, Greek Mythologies are pretty famous after all. That means that other places with a lot of myths like Scandinavia or India would have many Magic Associations and their branches in it too.

"After they brought you here, they asked for me to handle the situation since I am the spokesperson of Witenagemot and had the most experience in dealing with Campiones."

She spoke with eyes that shows that she was somehow troubled. Did she had some trouble with Campiones before?

"Trouble? If you would call dealing with _that_ man as trouble…"

I assume that this 'That Man' is one hell of a troublesome Campione.

"That person is Black Prince Alec, a very un-gentleman person,"

So, a roughman then?

"Yes, that would be correct. He would do anything he wants and takes anything he wants. At most he'll probably give a note reading 'This is interesting, I'm taking it.'"

Which means from time to time he didn't even say that. Still, a kleptomania actually killing a God? _Most Campiones tend to be a bit weird, though from her description, you two might get along nicely._ Doubt it, we'd probably clash immediately.

"You can relax, though I have little care for people I don't know, I at least have the decency not to trouble them."

Most of the time anyway (though even then, not by much) and when they're not in my way. When they are in my way and especially in my way to my fun… then I'll just crush both the weak and the strong.

"So, I'm a Campione now?"

"Indeed, it would seems that you have defeated a God… Prometheus wasn't it?"

Yep. Should be obvious from the place they found me.

"Because of that, you are now a Supreme King, a Devil King, if you so inclined you can do anything and everything and none of us would lift even a finger against you, for only other Campiones and Gods can go against you. All that we ask, would be for you to defeat Heretic Gods that manifest in this world."

She smiled as she said that.

…

She's testing me. Smart woman, no wonder they chose her to deal with me. _Not to mention, this isn't her real body but only an Ectoplasmic Projection, her real body is somewhere else far away from here._ Meaning that should I retaliate, no one would actually get hurt. Interesting and very clever.

"Hoo, well that's interesting in a way, but no, I don't want everything to be given to me. That wouldn't be fun at all. Isn't it more interesting to work for it instead?"

I answered her test with a smirk. Which she replied with a smile.

"Hmm, I see, I see. Indeed, I would agree with your opinion. What would be the fun in having everything without to work for it? That would be just like a selfish kid." It seems that she's jabbing at that Alec person again.

"Now that I passed your 'test', mind explaining my situation in more details."

The face she shows at my reply is like a kid that was caught red-handed doing something bad.

"Ahaha, my apologies-"

I told you, don't apologize.

"Aha, I forgot. In any case I had to confirm what kind of individual are you since it is a very important thing."

To warn others in the Magic world?

"Yes. Although it would seems that in addition to being a good individual in general, you are also an intelligent one."

From the 'in general' it seems that this is only a preliminary assessment.

"Anyway, as a Campione, you are asked to defeat Heretic Gods and other mystical beings or creatures should they appear on Earth. In exchange, you will have total support from the people of the Supernatural society barring those already associated with another Campione."

That would be like an invasion, the other Campione probably won't accept it. Wait, I see where this is going…

"Wait, I'll be frank, are you people going to ask me to join your organization? From what you've been saying, getting the support of a Campione equals to getting their protection too. Also, from how you were saying it, it suggests that your organization does not have a Campione. Am I wrong?"

"…*sigh*, a frighteningly sharp one too. Yes, I was going to ask you to join the Witenagemot as our Campione at the end of this discussion."

Though you don't seem to be motivated to do that.

"Yes, it is quite an irritating task to do, watching what I say, being polite, to not mention bribery and coercion, things like that. I wouldn't do it if those elders didn't give me hours of _talking_ of why I _should_ do it."

_Huh, I like this girl. She's a frank one._ Though I wonder how those elders would react if they finds out about it. Probably pretty hilarious. _Agreed._

"Yeah, now can we get back to the topic, namely, the exposition, I mean explanation?"

"Of course. Um… let's see, ah! Since you defeated the God, you gain their Authority, their Abilities. Usually people only get one but there are rare cases of getting more than one. It was said in a book that the Campiones can sense their Authority by closing their eyes and looking inside themselves."

That's a bit clichéd but handy, admittedly. I closed my eyes to sense my gained Authorities.

"Hm… I guess I'm one of those rare cases. No, that's wrong, you can say that I'm a unique case."

"Unique case?"

"Yes. I got all eight Authorities Prometheus had, in addition to that, he fused himself into me and resides in my body right now."

…

"W-what? There has never been a case like that! Not even the records containing the few information about Campiones in the past has something like that!"

I thought I said it was a unique case?

"Prometheus was the Sage of Foresight and the brother of Epimetheus who is the husband of Pandora. It wouldn't be weird for him to be able to modify Pandora's God-Slayer ritual with his knowledge and cleverness, right?"

_Ah, would you mind if you let me borrow your mouth for a while?_ You can take control over my body? _Only when you're not actively controlling it although it seems that when our intention is the same we can sort of synchronize to achieve a greater effect._ Huh, I see. And sure, you can use it for a while.

"What he said is the truth, Princess Shrine Maiden Alice Louise of Witenagemot. Or should I say, Ectoplasmic Double of her?"

She was silent for a while. _She's receiving a vision. Princess Shrine Maiden or Hime-Miko in your native language are, simply said, women of Divine Ancestry. They can get visions of the future, some prophecies, or just a few pieces of information. It activates randomly, however._ Power-wise it's kind of useless but it's the kind of thing that would become a Deus ex Machina if you ask me. _A lot of battle's outcomes changed just because some that was allied with a Princess Shrine Maiden, who just so happen to gain visions at the perfect time and of the perfect information and was able to deliver it. It's justified since it works somewhat like an artist's inspiration._ Influenced by emotions and might got one because of seeing something, huh?

"…It seems that he was indeed telling the truth."

_"Ho, what did you saw in your vision, Princess Shrine Maiden?"_

"Your declaration of being revived together with him and a little bit of your history. The latter is the prove that you are indeed Prometheus as he is definitely not using any Authority right now so I shouldn't be having any vision of you."

_"If you believe it I suppose it's enough. Now, would you mind leaving us for a while? We have something that we need to discuss and your presence would hinder it."_

"As you wish, your high-"

_"Oh and I am just like him, dislike being called like that. It's annoying. When you want to call me, you can just call me… Morgenstein. It would not be good for my identity to be found so easily after all."_

Morgen meaning morning in Old English and stein meaning star in Crimean Gothic. Why am I not surprised? _I'm more interested in how you know stein means star in Crimean Gothic._ I had once searched about it in wiktionary after reading a story with stein in its title.

"Of course, Lord Morgenstein."

She then went downstairs and left us together alone. Well, physically only me alone but that's close enough. In any case, we can focus on speaking with each other now.

**{Fishy Aroma (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)}**

…It's about the Catastrophe, right? You gave this much power and at a high level mastery over them as well. Before that, let me get my – and your – Authorities clear first:

A Divine [Flame] that can be used to heal/purify or burn nearly as hot as Hellfire. The ability to [Steal] nearly anything, even a God's Authority. The ability to go stealth and [Anonymous]. Making [Clones] from earth (Must've came from the legend of him creating Men from Clay). [Star]-based range attacks (Comets, Meteor, and Lasers are included too). [Light] Element that can be used to buff myself and other people. The [Ice] of Cocytus to make Ice and freeze things. And the power to control [Darkness], including in others heart. Eight Authorities with different abilities each (Though he doesn't seem to have named it yet).

Well… that can handle practically any and all situations.

_Yeah, a total opposite of your rather overspecialized ability right?_ Shut up, you. _Nope, still need to do the exposition. Ah, let's see, you've listed my Authorities, yes, but you see, that was only the basic application. _Wait, what? _You can combine them to achieve a specific effect or apply them into an object or in a specific way._ _For example, that [Clone] ability can be used to make things other than clones of yourself. Hell, I've once combined it with my Divine [Flame] to make a Giant Lava Monster._

…

Alright, now that it's clear that I only beaten you because you went wild and not use your full potential, mind telling what the hell is the Catastrophe you're talking about? I don't think it's something small if you would go as far as letting yourself getting beaten by me, then fusing yourself with me, and finally give me all of your power. At full mastery. From the very beginning.

_…First, go to the balcony and look at the sky._ I did what he said and went to the balcony just behind the dining table. Now what? _Look at your one o'clock._ I looked at the sky at the direction he told me. …Wait, is that? That's the star Sirius. Also called the Morning Star. The problem is… it's too bright. It's undergoing a Supernova. If you were to translate it into divinations, it'll be 'Not Good'. _You get it now? I did said that it was a 'Catastrophe', but what if it's a beyond that? Like the end of the world? Morning Stars are associated with Lucifer, which is tied with Satan, and Satan is associated with…_

Judgment. …The Judgment Day. Alright, that's not a good sign alright. So what are we going to do about it? Investigate, and then? _We gather allies. I purposely let myself be defeated by you because Campione has the ability to go against destiny and pre-determined stuffs. Well, not entirely purposely, but you get what I mean, right?_ Half Testing my abilities and potential, half going easy. _Yes, if I were to try to deal with it on my own, what'll happen?_ The Campiones going against you instead. It'll be a Cassandra Truth, no one would believe you. Additionally, you are bound by destiny. So, we gather as many allies as we can, human, Campione and even Gods alike if possible? _Yes, better safe than sorry._

*ZAZAZAZAZAZA*

Wait, why did it suddenly rain? _Oh crap, I totally forgot about him._ Who? _Him. The God that is also Beelzebub and Heracles._ Just spit it already.

'Mortal who have slain Prometheus! I, Melqart, command you to show yourself!'

Oh.

* * *

**Another View: The God of Storm**

The giant watched as the God of Victory crumbles away. To think that he who is always victorious would be defeated by a weak human child, the thoughts, while inconceivable, was incredible amusing in itself.

'Hmm?'

The giant god saw something fell from the disintegrating youth. It was a stone, but not any normal stone.

'Hm, hahaha! To think that useless one would go so far for the sake of defeat!'

The giant picked up the small stone and turned into the two humans behind him.

'Pass these words to him when he wakes up! Your first enemy was the war god Verethragna, the second one is me - Melqart! Very soon I will recover all my power. When that time comes, take the place of that war god, my spears of fury will be aimed at you! Polish your sword and wait for my arrival!'

The enormous god then vanished in a gust of wind and thunder.

There was something more important that he had noted during the fight. That is, the Grimoire held by the god-slaying brat Kusanagi Godou. It was the Grimoire of Prometheus. He had used it to bring about victory and defeat the god of victory. The idea of a god of victory being defeated by a mere human of all things was still amusing but the stone Grimoire the boy used was more important. Under the stress of using Veretheragna's power, it had broken into pieces.

*BOOM*

He manifested in the far-away land of Greek. Travelling such great distance was nothing for the great god of storm. In addition to being the god of storm, he was also in charge of travelers and sailors after all. Crossing the sea was a small feat for him.

But why would he be here in Greek? It is simple. He has an old friend. One that he held respect over him. That friend is Prometheus. He knew that surely he would wakes up after the destruction of his Grimoire.

'It has been awhile, Prometheus.'

A figure in black clothes could be seen, looking at him.

"…Ah, Melqart. What a timely arrival, you arrived just as I wake up."

'Ohoho, of course, I had witnessed the destruction of your Stone Grimoire, the last seal holding you from waking up.'

"Hum, so were you the one who…?"

'No, it was not me that broke your seal.'

"Is that so? Still, it's just my luck to have my Authorities sealed isn't it?"

'For a god, you have always been known for having abysmal luck, guhahaha! But more importantly, now that you have you are awaken, do you wish for another fight?'

"Nah, I think I'll pass. I need to do something. Something which I can't do if I got defeated or tired because of fighting you. Besides, I still have the higher score."

'Bah! If you only fight without always frantically planning and scheming, I would have won more. In any case, very well then if that is what you wish, I have something to do myself.'

It was rather uncharacteristic for him to simply accept someone's refusal to his challenge, such was the respect he holds for the one known as Prometheus. The two shared a long history as a friend and rival to the point that it was recorded in multiple separate myths.

"Oh? Is it that God of Victory Veretheragna? I believe that you fought him to a draw recently. So he has recovered?"

'Your knowledge is severely outdated, 'Foresighted One'. Veretheragna has already been defeated.'

Melqart answered mockingly.

It was understandable that his knowledge was outdated, however. He had been sealed for years within the Netherworld and only knows things from there, either from visions or from another being that dwells in there. It was a spell similar in nature to Keeper of the Horses used to seal and confine Sun Wukong that had sealed him. He and Melqart had been fighting that day and as luck would have it, just as he won (without killing Melqart of course), a human chose that time to seal him.

Since then he was trapped in the Netherworld and was only able to manifest again thanks to the destruction of his Sacred Tome which also held one of his Authorities, specifically the one to steal things and Authorities of other Gods. Although he would have to retrieve the freed Authority in Sardinia and make sure to erase the memories of the ones who had used it to hide his identity. That was why while he had awakened in his Underground City in Greece, it was in Sardinia that he was spotted by the magicians.

"…I would assume that it was not by you. …Wait. You're not saying…"

'It was not a Campione. A normal human defeated him.'

It became silent with that. Finally, it was broken by a laugh so hard and laugh as if the laugher had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Puh, FUHAHAHAHA! The God of Victory, beaten by a human? Ha, now that's the joke of the century!"

'Indeed it is in a way, a very funny joke. However, I was not joking at all.'

"Yeah, I know, I know, you're not the joking type after all. So that human was the one that used and broke my Tome huh? What a lucky person. What is the name of that mortal?"

'His name is Kusanagi Godou.'

"Kusanagi Godou… I'll remember that name. So, you're going to battle him now?"

'Indeed I will. The brat is at least worth my attention if he managed to vanquish Veretheragna, even if he purposefully let himself be defeated. He is unfortunately, a pacifist.'

"Wow, a pacifist killing the God of Victory?"

Prometheus shook his head at that, disbelieving. Also, he knew that Melqart was actually asking him on his opinion on how to make Kusanagi Godou fights him.

"Just threaten him that you will sink your territories should he refuse to fight. Even if he's a pacifist – no – because he _is_ a pacifist, if you threaten him with others' life, he would surely be enraged. If he's still not serious, then kill him once. Since he had killed _that_ Veretheragna, he would surely has the [Ram] to resurrect himself. Kill him once and sink your old city, Soluntum. If he doesn't get serious or unable to revive himself then…"

He was not a worthy opponent, was what left unsaid. Melqart accepted that idea even if it went a bit too far. Even he would not sink his territories, what good are territories if it was destroyed after all. However, if by sinking one decayed city he can get a good fight, then so be it. It is worth the sacrifice. Satisfied, the gigantic God of Storm vanished with a majestic thunder.

'Hehaha, very well then! Let us meet again after I deal with the brat!'

Unknown to him at that time, it would be the last time he would see his old friend. He would find out his defeat just before the Seventh Campione was able to deal a final blow on him with his [Stallion].

**Another View End**

* * *

**~Wind of Destruction~**

Looks like I got my tutorial sequence on your power now. _Tutorial against someone as strong as him? Whatever, I'm setting the Divine Space barrier._

The surrounding turned became red, the Divine Space must've changed a bit due to my nature but it looks too unnatural if you ask me. As I was contemplating that, I heard a running footstep behind me.

*TAP**TAP**TAP*

"Mr. Izayoi!"

"Yo, Alice. It's fine if I fight him, right? I'm bored anyway."

"Mr. Izayoi… Melqart is a Divine King-class Heretic God."

"Heeh, well it doesn't matter anyway, doesn't look like he's going to calm down and talk this thing out."

I then looked at her.

"Is there any other people in this Divine Space?"

She responded to my question by shaking of her head.

"No, it's strong enough to block most mages so I do not think that there is any other people in here but, who set it up? I doubt Melqart would bother setting one up."

"Yeah, it's me. Anyway, you should go find a safe place to hide."

She looked like she wants to say something but didn't. Seems like despite how she looks like and how she acts, she does has a brain. This is a battle between a Campione and a Heretic God, she'll only be a hindrance to me if she stays.

"I understand. Good luck to you, Mr. Izayoi."

And she went away with that. Now then, let's deal with this god. _Before you do, it would not do to go to battle with that kind of outfit._ I looked at my outfit. It's all tattered and damaged. Yeah, battling in this clothes would be lame, alright. Just when I thought of that a black long-coat, similar to the one Prometheus had worn appeared on my hands. _Be thankful._ Thankful.

…

What, I really did be thankful, right? After asking him that, I removed the damaged coat I got as a replacement to my old gakuran and wore the long-coat that was… created? Summoned? Well… given by Prometheus. Hm, not bad.

Once I finished, I turned my eyes towards the sky.

"Oi, I'm here, you idiot Heretic God!"

'You! Has you truly slain Prometheus?!'

"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?"

'I know not of how you did it, however, you shall prove yourself worthy before me, or you shall fall like countless others, by my might!'

*BOOM*

A giant with body made of stone and long white hair then appeared from the place the thunder struck.

'I have abandoned mine's duel with the slayer of the God of Victory, do not disappoint me, God-Slayer!'

"That's my line! I have just defeated Prometheus, do not disappoint me, God of Storm!"

**~Storm of Two Devils (vs Melqart)~**

**{Izayoi's Battle Theme: Last Phantasm (Koumajou Densetsu II)}**

_I won't be helping you except for explaining my Authorities. You're in this alone._ That's fine, but I have one question. Anything I do in here, won't affect the outer world, right? _As long as you devote some magic energies to repair the damage later, yes._ Then that means…

"Heh, ahaha! Be careful god of storm! Thanks to this Divine Space, I can go full power without having to worry about anything!"

And with that, I jump towards him. Of course, he tried to punch me with his giant arms, but…

'HM?!'

It got knocked back easily by my punch. The knock back makes him open, an opportunity which I used to deliver a spinning kick to him which makes take a few steps back.

'NUOH!'

"Oi, oi, come on, that's not all you have, right, God of Storm?!"

'Do not underestimate me, God-Slayer! Yagarish! Ayamari!'

With that shout, he summoned two giant clubs. But, he's not going full power yet, isn't he? _Indeed, he has not use his Herculean Strength yet._ Well, well…

"Now this-"

'Oooo!'

He swung his two clubs at me, I simply did what makes the most sense when in a situation like this.

"-is the real deal!"

That is, punching them with the power of my Gift. I punched at the two clubs with my usual 'Third Cosmic Velocity' punch. It pushed back his clubs easily.

'W-what?!'

He look shocked, of course he was shocked, I had punched his giant clubs without using any Authority. As anyone would tell you, that simply just doesn't make sense. But that doesn't matter now. I have enough time to pull _it_ out. _Pull what?_ A part of my Gift I couldn't use against you since there wasn't enough time to pull it.

*SWOOOSH*

Light gathers on my hand, forming a shining hilt and eventually a shining blade of light. This is a part of my Gift, it takes a long time to summon it out, but it's really useful. A Sword of Light that can cut through space. This Sword of Light… the thing it cannot cut… are next to none!

*SWISH**SLICE**SLASH*

'Guaaah!'

Melqart screamed from the wound it took. Not even gods are safe from this sword. But come on, that can't be all he got, can it?

"Ahahaha! What's wrong, _great_ God of Storm?! That's not all you have right?! Come on, do fight me seriously and entertain me more!"

_You are totally reckless._ Youths should be reckless. Hm? The wind… it's getting even faster. Heh, now this is what I call a real storm.

'I see, it seems that you are not a normal human... HOHOHO, VERY WELL! YOU SHALL BE MINE'S ENEMY NOW! I HAVE LEFT MINE'S BATTLE WITH THE KUSANAGI BRAT JUST TO COME HERE, DON'T DIE SO EASILY!'

As he said that, the storm blows like a true storm made by one worthy of being called a God of Storm. For me, it isn't that hard to handle it, though.

*BAM**BAM*

I simply slammed my foot deep into the earth, cross my arm, and looked at him cockily.

'HOH, VERY GOOD, BUT HOW WILL YOU PROCEED NOW IN THIS STORM?'

That's easy. I have one advantage over all gods and most Campiones,

'HOO?'

He sounds genuinely amused. Well it's simple really, I have a very flexible set of Authorities and I also have science!

I called upon the Divine [Flame] in right-front direction of me. This [Flame] Authority, it's an extremely useful and versatile one. It can be set which to burn and which not to. It can even heal, purifies, and repair anything I want. What got affected by it and what is not can be chosen too. And I can also set the convection of the [Flame]'s heat. Heat spreads to the cooler area around it, it's one of the main factor in that decides the direction that wind blows to. I simply placed a flame near myself with a very great heat and convection rate (with the heat set not to affects me of course) to counter his counter-clockwise wind. It was just enough for me to be able to walk.

"Now then, let's fight for real, shall we?"

'Do not disappoint me, Slayer of Prometheus.'

"That's my line, God of Storm!"

I jumped towards him, he tried to swat me with his clubs. Whoa! It's much stronger and faster than before, good thing I managed to dodge it using explosions and my Gift to quickly change the direction of my jump but I'm back on the ground now since I had to evade it. _He must have used his Herculean Strength._ Oh yeah, anything else I should know about him? _He's also Baal. Specifically Baal Hadad and Beelzebub._ Okay, I have a few ideas about his abilities now. Now then, it's show time.

Once again I jumped towards him, he tried to smash me with his club but I already know his speed, so all I have to do is…

*SLICE*

Slash them apart with this sword. Again he was surprised, it would seems that he didn't take my statement of my sword being able to cut nearly everything seriously. That gave me some open- no! His hands that was holding the sliced club simply just punched at me. With my left hand that wasn't holding the sword, I punched at it, powered by [Flame] to make up the small amount of force given by my Gift due to it being a surprise. But since it came surprisingly, my punch was not strong enough to deflect his own.

I slammed down into the ground. Ouch, that hurts… But my complain was cut short when my instinct told me to get up quickly. I then see why; Melqart was going to club me down with his other club. I need a ranged attack… An Authority responds to my need, the [Star], using it I shoot a star (most likely a comet, aka, Shooting Star) at his club. It's just enough to knock it back, but then my instinct flared again. This time, it seems to be warning me of the lightning from the sky.

*ZAP**BOOM*

I dodged just in time to avoid getting zapped and getting caught at the lightning's explosion effect. Okay, since when did lightning can cause explosion? _Logic does not need to apply to gods. By the way, try combining my Authorities together._ Combining… Oi, Prometheus, how do I combine your Authorities? _Oh yeah, just call the Authorities you want to use and then make some custom Spell Words. Incantations are just a gateway to use your powers, you just need to make one that corresponds best to what you want to do, use, and/or make. _Is that so? Then that means I'll just have to do what I'm really good at: Improvising.

Hm… that should work.

"_Come and fall, guest stars of Ice and Fire! Shoot!_"

Short and simple, just how I like it.

With that command, countless stars falls towards Melqart, many were swept away by the storm, but some that make it to him exploded in flames or ice. Of course, he didn't just stand there doing nothing, he immediately calls many lightning to rain down on me. I, however, simply just dashed around and avoided them all. It wasn't so hard, it was just like my barrages of shooting star, a support fire. The shooting star variation of the [Star] Authority is only useful as a covering/supporting fire or destroying a large amount of enemy.

I kept dodging around. Left, right, front, behind, ducks, backflips, rolls. Meanwhile Melqart was swatting away my barrage with his clubs, the sliced one having been restored. His strength is a Herculean one, it was not savage like an animal, but uses quite some cleverness and calculation just like how Hercules had been called as a smart and creative hero. He might looks like a guy trying to swat some flies (which is rather ironic since he's also the Lord of Flies) but each of those swings are carefully planned. The amount of stars that actually hit him is very small and mostly only the weak ones.

But that was enough. That was all I need. Even when I was dodging around his lightning barrages, I was not doing nothing. I was charging my Gift, the Unknown that can destroy even stars. I may have some other abilities now, but in the end, this is the ability most suited for me. And now, I am much stronger physically, and not to mention, my Authority and Gift… they are compatible with each and can be combined.

I punched at the air, releasing all of the charged attack. It's not just my Gift, in that punch, I also shoot a Gift-powered [Flame]. I had always been able to make a ranged attack with my Gift but since it was much weaker it's just not worth it. But if I channel it into my Authority, it wouldn't deteriorate in power like it did when I use it normally. And that was all it takes to disperse the clouds in the sky, stopping the wind and lightning temporarily, giving me all the chance I need. Though it doesn't seem that he wouldn't give it away so easily.

'SO YOU MANAGED TO DISPERSE MINE'S STORM, GOOD! BUT THAT IS NOT ALL I HAVE, ARISE, LOCUSTS OF BAʿAL ZEBÛB!'

A swarm of locusts appears, just from looking at them I can easily tell that each of them are cursed. I would need to be constantly on fire to be able to reach him. The locusts swarms around me who was on fire.

'THOSE FIRES WON'T SAVE YOU, I HAVE FOUGHT THAT FIRE SO MANY TIMES MY LOCUST CAN IGNORE THEM!'

It's true, they aren't harmed even a slightest bit. I guess it had adapted from his fights with Prometheus. Well then I guess it's good thing that the me that they are attacking isn't the real one.

*BOOM*

'HMM?!'

I made the clone explode while I attack him from behind. How did I managed to do it without him finding out? Simple, I cloaked myself with the [Anonymous] Authority which is a stealth Authority that can cover my presence and actions. Under effect from that Authority, I also made a [Clone] out of the earth and sneak behind him. All while still shooting many [Stars], though seems I am still limited to only two Authorities at a time for now. _It is very clever however, even he wouldn't expect something that crafty._

'UOH!'

The punch managed to unbalance him. Hm… I can sort of control the shape of the [Ice] I made and the specification of my [Flame] such as what to harm and what not to… Heh, I got a really nice idea on how to use those advantages together.

As the gigantic God tried to regain his balance, he stepped back a few times. Did he really think I would let him regain his balance? Of course not. Right when he is about to regain his balance, I made an explosion using the [Flame] below his foot. This made him fall towards me, which is just perfect. While he was busy trying to regain his footing back, I was charging my [Ice] into the shape of a giant arm. Just when he fell into my direction, I was done shaping it. Moving it was still a bit hard, so I used a little trick. I boosted its movement with my Gift and also flames like a rocket engine. Not only that, it adds the arm's speed too, giving it more power. The arm then punched at him in an uppercut, and with some extra explosions and flames especially at the tip, it managed to throw him into the air.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I was also reshaping my Sword of Light? It's also much bigger and powered by the [Ice] Authority so that the parts that didn't get slashed would at least be frozen and become more fragile. While he was airborne, I slashed him many times. I am normally fast, but I am much faster now that I can use [Light] to buff my speed since I don't have to keep shooting star barrages anymore. This results in a hundred slashes or more during the three seconds Melqart was airborne and defense-less.

It seems that I still need more practice with both my Gift and Authorities. Originally I had wanted to use the giant arm and Sword of Light in a similar fashion DMC's Nero used Devil Buster against a stunned Berial. While I managed to simulate a similar effect to it, it's still not close enough to it. With my proficiency with my Authorities and Gift the way it is now, I can't even lift the heavy and enormous God of Storm into the air. I can uppercut it given enough charging time but grab then lifting was still beyond me. Though nothing prevents me from continuously slashing at him even after he hit the ground. Good thing that you can keep attacking fallen enemies in Real Life unlike in those Fighting Games.

It didn't take long for him to ris- did he just turned into clouds? That's quite a dangerous ability since I can't attack him while he's like that. After moving about a half kilometer away, he returned to his solid form.

**{Blue Dragon -East Shichiyado- by SENTIVE (Sengoku Gensokyo)}**

'IT SEEMS THAT I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU. I SHALL NOW USE ALL OF MINE'S POWER!'

Now we're talking. …Huh? The storm, it stopped? …No, it turned into a Serpent. That's right, in one myth with Hannibal － a faithful worshipper of him－ he saw a black serpent wreaking havoc with thunder and lightning following behind it. And that reminds me, there are some myths that views him as a life-death-rebirth deity… _I see that you have a high knowledge of mythologies. And all of your thoughts are correct, including his ability to heal himself._

Sure enough, the wounds I had dealt to him is closing. So I have two choices right now:

a. Don't give him a chance to heal (Deal fast, continuous, and large damage)

b. Seal his Authority with my Gift (Less damage and stunning for faster sealing).

Which one should I choo-

A lightning struck snapping me out of my thought. I immediately jumped into the sky since the lightning is near the Storm Serpent, meaning it's close to me. Indeed, the black Serpent was right behind me. It would've hit me had I didn't jump and I am not in a hurry to find out whether the Storm Serpent is solid or not and whether it can swallow me or not. I immediately made a second jump, not towards the air but towards the ground. I can't evade well when I'm on air after all. Again, I narrowly avoided the Storm Serpent. It's fast and it can fly, this isn't good.

As if things aren't annoying enough, the ground is now swarmed with them Fire-Proof Insects. Does this even qualify as a tutorial anymore? If it is, then I guess I can look forward to how Nintendo Hard my next opponents will be, I thought as I grinned from the tension.

Let's see… it's immune to the [Flame], so let's try freezing them. I called upon my [Ice] Authority and felt the air around me becoming cold. The Authority has no visual effect and simply just banishes the heat in an area through an invisible aura. Not awesome looking, but practical. Gathering the cold aura into my hand, I made a swipe with it and thrown the freezing coldness of my [Ice] towards the surrounding locusts.

It's a good thing that while they're Fire-Proof, they aren't resistant towards Ice at all. Most of the locusts got caught in the ice-cold wave was frozen. With that in mind, I shrouded myself in the freezing aura of my [Ice] Authority. Sigh, I really need to name them soon. It just feels weird simply calling them by their element. _I can't believe you're worrying about that right now. Focus on the fight, you idiot!_

Just when I was about to reply to him, Melqart swings both of his clubs to me and I jumped to left to avoid them. Great, not even thinking's a free action now.

Thanks to the presence of the Storm Serpent and Locusts, I have no choice but to keep dodging and evading his attacks. Left, right, behind, I kept on dashing away from near misses. His Herculean Strength seems to boost his speed too. The situation is simply bad, I'm stuck between rock and a hard place. Currently, my limit of simultaneous Authority seems to be only two and the two I'm using are the [Ice] and the [Light]. [Ice] to deal with the Locusts and [Light] to deal with the speed of this stony giant's attacks. Blocking one club would open me to other, making distance is prevented by the mostly stalking in the distance Storm Serpent, jumping to the air to avoid the Locusts would really open me up. His attacks are effectively caging me.

Which means that it's about time I take another approach on this. His attacks are meant to keep me busy, to unable to do anything but getting myself tired. Wait, getting myself tired? I see, an idea then formed in my mind. I keep on evading his attacks until the best opportunity to execute my plan appears.

'HEHEHEHAHAHA, WHAT'S WRONG GOD-SLAYER? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE, HMMM?'

Said the 'I-guess-in-a-way-he-is-not-a-very-stony' giant. And thus, the perfect time came.

The Serpent was positioned towards the direction of my behind-right and there's a brief lull in monstrous god's barrage of club swinging. Using a great amount of power, I dashed far away to the left, freezing as many Locusts as I can. Once I was a little faraway, I used the projectile attack of my Gift stored within the [Ice], this time shaped in a giant, wide-ranged wave. It was enough to push back most of the insect as I will need some room to pull this out. Landing on the ground, I started to chant my 'Improvised Spell Words of Slaughters'.

"_Arise and come in my name as the Lord of This World, Rime-Giant of the Mist World! Become slave to thy master and be the rook to the king! Serve and protect me!_"

A giant made of Ice arise after I finished invoking my Spell Words. I got this idea from hearing Prometheus' story of making a giant lava monster in the past. The trick was surprisingly simple, make a big yet undetailed clone out of the earth and imbue it with the element of [Ice]. It's nothing in the face of Melqart the huge Divine King Heretic God, but it was enough for what I have in mind.

Once I made the Ice Giant, I deactivated my [Ice] Authority. The giant will take care of the swarming locust and more. And by more, I meant the annoying Storm Serpent.

Following behind me as I run back to Melqart, the Ice Giant immediately turns to my right when the Serpent tries to attack me. It then punches the giant snake made of storm. It simply just passes through it of course, it's made of clouds after all. But that's my plan. As the Serpent keep lunging towards me, its body starts to freeze and became ice. Yes, clouds are intangible while it would most likely somehow be able to harm me. But that doesn't apply when it's frozen. It has one major weakness: It's made of clouds. And clouds are mostly made of water vapors. Which makes freezing it even easier.

It might be able to harm me if I try to do freeze it by myself. That's why, I just make an Ice-Elemental disfigured giant clones of myself to do the job. That's the true function of the Ice Giant, it wasn't meant to deal with Melqart and his attacks but rather his Locusts and Snake.

Ahh Science, is there anything you can't solve? I take it you never did that trick, Prometheus? _Yeah. Quite creative honestly. I admit I misjudged you, I thought you are that kind of person who thinks 'Brute Force, is there anything you can't solve?'_ Nah, I'm actually more of 'Simple is the Best' kind of guy. Some things are just too troublesome.

Without anything to hinder me, I managed to reach Melqart before he recovered from being surprised over my trick. He was wide open, so I just give him a roundhouse kick. Severely charged with [Flame] and my Gift of course. It results in him getting thrown away, dragged on the ground. He immediately tries to stand up but I won't let him. Right after I land on the ground, I jump toward the sky to give a heavy pounding with both of my fist, again, charged with the [Flame] and my Gift. After that I jump back a few time away from the crater the fallen giant laid as he tries to stand again.

'W-WHAT?! I CANNOT HEAL?!'

Oh, that. Sorry your Authority just got sealed. In the end I picked the third choice: Deal a huge damage and seal his Authority. By making an opportunity and then letting [Flame] deal the damage while my [Unknown] seals his Authority.

"I have the ability to destroy others abilities, you see."

'Im-impossible…'

He said as he looks vacantly towards the sky.

…I have a bad feeling. A really bad one.

'...To think that a newborn God-Slayer can reduce me to such a state… no, that other God-Slayer managed to harm me too… yet, to lose in this fight where I have almost fully recovered from mine's wound in the battle against that useless God of Victory… HOW… SHAMEFUL!'

He then grabbed the stone crown on his head…

'OOOOOOHHH!'

And broke it apart. This, could this be… A Switching Winback? _Switching Winback? What is that?_

Well I only read it in passing but Switching Winback, it is some sort of mental recovery technique used by high-level athletes. When they are suffering from some emotional setbacks such as fear, shock, and/or shame, they use some sort of switch to drive them all away and show only their fighting spirit. To activate it they must use some sort of ritual or stimulus, everyone has their own ritual/stimulus to turn on their mental switch such as making an oath, changing their clothes, screaming, etc. The greater the emotional setbacks, the more exceptional the ritual/stimulus needed.

And his mental switch is… crushing the crown on his head? _Hm… I think I get it. Melqart has always viewed himself as a Lord, a Master, a King. By destroying his crown, he throws away his side as a King and turn himself into nothing but a savage and brutal warrior just like his appearance suggests. In the past he never did it when fighting against me since he had seen me as a worthy opponent. You on the other hand, is just a mere child before his age, experience, and strength. And yet he was losing against you._ Which is why he choose to fully devote his entire being to defeat me since it had shamed him.

Looks like this is the third and final round/phase then. What should I say now…

"So, you've finally decided to go serious against me, huh? In any case, it's time for me to wrap this party!"

Heaven or Hell, let's rock!

**{Oni's Island in the Fairyland ~ Missing Power - Sengoku Arr.-by Hatoharu (Sengoku Gensokyo)}**

Though I do wish that I have my headphone right now, I really could use some music. Can't be helped, now let's get serious!

_Well, I guess I will give a little hint for you: Reduce his weapon._ What? Does it looks like he will give me a chance to remake that Sword of Light again? I would be dead before I can even make half of it. _That's not what I meant. Figure what I meant yourself._ Alright, meanwhile I should start engaging him.

I charged forward towards him and he immediately swing his giant clubs at me. It is faster and stronger than before, I have to focus on deflecting them. It takes the combined power of my Gift and [Flame] to actually even redirect them and takes the maximum combined power of both to actually deflect it. But that's not the true problem. The true problem is much simpler.

It's much very savage and brutal. Attacking without stopping and planning, he simply swing his clubs at me as fast and strong as possible, nothing more, nothing less. He has went berserk. And I cannot predict his movements because of that.

A swing from the left, when I deflect it he already started another swinging from my right, deflect it and then another came from up-right, deflect then right, deflect, swing, deflect, swing. It keeps repeating without giving me a chance to even formulate a plan nor predict a single thing.

…! A chance! He swings both of his clubs at me. I deflected both of them at the same time. The small lull in high-speed barrage gives me a time to think of what Prometheus said earlier. Reduce his weapon… it must be his club. But how? In his current condition he could just- Ah… I see what you mean now.

Just when I figured it out, he started to attack again. But I got lucky as the best opportunity to do what I had thought immediately presents itself.

He swung the left club in an overhead swing, intent on crushing me from above. Just when it comes close to hitting me, I hit it so hard that it got deflected from his hands and into the ground just to the right of me. Not wasting any time, I immediately runs to it before he can resummons into his hand. Touching it, I do what Prometheus had advised me: Reduce it from his inventory.

How? Simple, just steal it with the [Thief] Authority. As I touch it, I can feel the Authority being absorbed into me. Hmm… I think I should only use this Authority at decisive moments since it seems that I can only use it once a day and it seals all of my other Authorities.

I put the end of the club's handle on my shoulder while my hands grabs it. The fact that I had stolen his Authority doesn't seems to register on Melqart's mind as he simply just swings his other club at me.

As the swing comes, I also swung the club that I was holding in a circular arc. Stealing the Authority also gave me the strength necessary to use it, added with my Gift that was still active and usable, it made deflecting his attacks much easier. No, I didn't just deflect it, I actually reflected his club, although it was not enough to throw it off his hand.

This time the attack came from my left side. The swing I made to defend from it was even stronger as I had charged it with my Gift and the Authority has been fully usurped. I actually managed to make his club thrown out of his hand. He was actually off-balanced for a second there. Key words: _A_ second.

As soon as he regained his balance, he ran off towards me. I won't have time to swing this club as he is already close. Having no choice, I let go of the Authority I had stolen. Immediately I felt my other Authorities available for usage. I used [Ice] to freeze the ground around me and [Light] to buff myself. His fist came from overhead and I blocked it with both of my hands, strengthened by my Authority and Gift. I had frozen the surrounding grounds so that I won't get sunken into the ground.

His fist was strong and it kept trying to push me. But I endured and kept pushing back with all of my might. After a while, the push subsides and with that, I simply just did what logically comes next. Well, what is logical by _my_ logic anyway. I lifted him by his hand, lifted his whole body… and swing it towards the ground behind me. That must have hurt. It seems to be truly so as he did not immediately raise again. The fact that I slammed him deep into the ground might help too.

Now's my chance. I don't think I will have another chance to finish this swiftly like this again. So, what should I do? An idea passed into my mind. It's not a bad idea and seems to be good for training my Authority combining skill. But for the time being, I am limited with only being able to combine two Authorities. That technique would require three Authorities.

…

Oh, come on! I already did the impossible by defeating a God! And now I'm saying that I can't use three Authorities at one time? Pfft, as if. As a wise man once said: Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb! With that, I began to chant the technique I want to imitate.

"_In this World of Light, there is no place for you of the Darkness!"_

A bright sphere of light, slightly wider than my body, began to form in front of me.

_"Thirst not! Hunger not! Return to the void!"_

The sphere of light solidified and scorching hot. I then began running towards the downed Melqart.

"_Lemuria Impact!"_

I jumped towards the air before slamming the sphere into him. When it hit him, it then grows. As I had set the [Flame] infused with [Star] to not spread through the [Light] barrier, I landed safely on the enlarging sphere.

"_Sublimate!"_

I finished the spell after jumping on the sphere. The reason was because the high amount of pressure also confined within the sphere was fully released forming an explosion. As I fell, I used [Star] with myself as the projectile to empower my axe kick.

"Atlantis Strike!"

After the kick hit him, I back-flipped away from him. However, he didn't die that 'easily'.

'OOOOOO! NO! NOT YET! I WILL NOT LOSE TO A MERE BRAT LIKE YOU!'

Can't you just die already? Instead of rising his body, he turned into a cloud of storm. Great, I just knew that that ability would be annoying.

"Can't, you, just, stay, down!?"

He's just too tenacious. As fun and interesting as it is, even I have my limits.

Empowering my fist with [Ice] and [Unknown]'s power as much as I can, I punched at him with all my might.

'UOOOH.'

The storm roared thunderously as it started to disperse. I didn't drop my guard until it fully vanished. Finally, after all of the cloud disappeared, I dropped to my knees then lied on my back.

**~The Storm Ends~**

That… that was fun. Though I have to admit that it was also quite tiring. He really was the Hercules, with that strength of him. Even after I got a stronger body and augmented myself very much he's still one hell of an opponent. Not to mention he's pretty tenacious too. Had I faltered just once back there, I wouldn't have a second chance, I would be dead by now.

Well, I guess it's a good thing I know a lot of trivia. I just know that learning trivia knowledge when you live in a fantasy-type world would be useful. From Mythologies, Science, to a few simple Psychology knowledge, I just know it'll come in handy someday in my life.

Hm? Was that? I walked towards what remains of Melqart, his giant head. He was truly a worthy opponent. But must someone like him be the second boss and also the tutorial boss? Only a crazy plot writer would make someone as powerful as him as a second boss.

"Ouch, ouch, you really can hit hard, Melqart, and you're quite tenacious too I have to admit."

'…Heh, I see that you are indeed a worthy enemy. I would like to ask you one thing… how did _he_ died? How did you beat him?'

Why don't you ask him yourself?

_"He beat me by making me fight him without a plan and overwhelm me physically."_

'Morgenstein' said after I give him control.

'…Hu, AHAHAHA! Indeed, I should have known, you will not die merely because you were killed. You are the brother of that woman's husband after all. Not to mention that you had been in the triangle before…'

**_"Not. Another. Word."_**

Prometheus stopped him mid-sentence. Seems like Melqart can see that it is really Prometheus speaking. Well, he is his friend so it makes sense.

But just now, what was he going to say? Before you lose? _**** YOU, ******._ Hey! How the hell did you do that bleep sound? Oh yeah, we're just talking through our minds so we can think of any noise. ****, ****, ****, cool. *sigh* what am I doing, testing something like that in an emotional situation like this.

_"*sigh* I do wonder whether I made the correct choice in choosing him as my vessel…"_

'Oh? And why so? As I see it he is a fine person by a Campione's standard?'

_"He is a bit… weird. I mean, when he was battling you, he was worried about his Authorities having no names!"_

What? You're regretting that now? _Eh, not really. You're a fine kind of guy, it's just that you're a bit idiotic._ Didn't Anesidora-chan said that I'm her child now? That means that I am also Epimetheus the _Foolish_ Titan's kid, right? _Well, Campiones are officially called the Illegitimate Children of Epimetheus the Fool because they are so idiotic that they dare to challenge a God. Though it's been awhile since I heard someone calling Pandora as Anesidora._ On that subject,

"It's important to name your technique, if you ask me. I mean, the Gift I have had was named 'Code: Unknown'. That's okay but can't it have a cooler name?"

'Gift?'

"An ability I had since I was born. It gives me the power equaling heaven and earth, the ability to destroy other Gifts – which includes Authorities by the way – and able to summon a light sword that cuts space itself."

'I see… so that's how. Regardless of his eccentricity,'

I might not be normal but telling that to my face is just impolite.

'You have a good vessel, Prometheus.'

_"I guess so. He's idiotic, but he is strong and clever. He doesn't really care about other peoples except for his friends but he still have the decency not to disturb them. He is also somewhat direct and I can feel that he has understood about his own self. Adding his battle tendency, he's pretty much the perfect kind of Campione in my opinion. You two should get along just fine had the situation was different"_

'Hu, very true. Had I just stopped and asked instead of going rampage, things might have been quite different. But this is good enough. It seems that you did fall by a worthy enemy. Tell me, what is your name, Godslayer?'

Izayoi, Sakamaki Izayoi.

'Izayoi… The Sixteenth night… Very well I shall remember that name. Even if I am to return to my legend, I shall not forget your name.'

He said as I felt his life fading away.

'I accept you as my friend and I rival! This I swear with my name and pride, we shall meet again. And when we do, we shall fight once more!'

"Heh, that's just fine! When we do, you better don't forget about your promise! In exchange I promise you this: That fight will be your best fight. The thunderous sounds of our fist will rocks the sky, the earth, the sea. It shall surpass even the greatest legends!"

'HAHAHA! Very well, do fulfill your promise. In the meanwhile, I, Divine King Melqart approves of you! Become strong and defeat all who stands before you!'

As he speak, he starts to disintegrate into clouds.

'Do stay alive until I return and avenge my loss, Sakamaki Izayoi!'

"I'll stay alive but you shouldn't be daydreaming, Melqart!"

'AHAHAHAHA!'

He laughs heartily as he fades away.

Finally, he vanished. Is this fine, Prometheus? _Yeah. He was satisfied so it is fine._ *shrugs* If you say so.

…See you again, big guy.

**~Paving the Way~**

Sounds of footsteps can be heard in the distance. It must be Alice since she's the only one here. I turned around and sure enough, it's her.

"Is it done?"

"Yeah. That was quite the crazy first fight I have to admit."

"…I guess it is, in a way."

She said with a smile and a sigh.

"I have to admit, I never thought you would know about the Divine Space spell, or is it…"

Yeah, it's 'Morgenstein'.

"I thought so. Well… considering how much you destroyed in the span of less than an hour, it's a relief that you have it."

The whole surrounding buildings and structures were demolished as if an enormous storm, earthquake, and tsunami had hit them at the same time. On second thought, I guess it had.

"Guess so. It's nice to be able to go wild without having to worry about collateral damages. Now then, let's get back to the subject of becoming your organization's Campione."

"You would become our Campione?"

She asked, wide-eyed. With all that she had said back then, anyone would be surprised that I would consider becoming their Campione.

"Under a few conditions of course."

"*sigh* I thought so. Very well, name your conditions."

She replied, looking intently at me. So, behind her noblewoman act is a bubbly girl, and behind that is a sharp opportunistic person. _A fearsome politician, she would be a good subordinate. Name her becoming your direct subordinate as one of your conditions._ Of course, but there is something much more important.

"Why did you try to dissuade me from joining your organization? Don't play dumb, I know that despite your personality, you are a sharp and smart girl. You didn't mention those blackmail things without a reason. You are not an idiot so there must be a reason for you to say it. Other than testing me of course."

For a while, she simply just stayed silent. Then, she laughed.

"Ufufu, how sharp, to detect that small thing. Indeed, in addition to test your character, I also did it to make you not interested in joining our organization. There are several reasons why. First of all, despite how much I dislikes it, England is the territory of Black Prince Alec, making you our Campione when our headquarter is there too is begging for the both of you to clash."

From what she said about him, there is a chance of him being possessive and the fact that as a Campione either of us will eventually make a trouble that would lead to us clash against each other.

"Second, those stupid Elders, they are desperate to regain their power and prestige, if you are to find out that they are using you to gain it, well… let's just say that in the place where someone once tried to manipulate a Campione, the land is still barren."

It's like trying to manipulate a Demon Lord I guess, even when they were just bored they could reduce a land into a barren land like it had been destroyed hundred years ago even though it was still less than a decade. Manipulating them? Definitely too dumb to live. Oh yeah, Campiones are also called Devil Kings. Definitely a legit reason.

"Third, the destruction that ensues. Campione are all battle maniacs so there is a high chance that you will fight many enemies in England. The problem is, do you realize what the state of Panopeous was when we found you?"

I simply shrugged.

"It was ruined. The city is totally demolished and the ceiling is in a critical state. The underground city nearly collapsed, taking whatever standing above its ground with it. The material the entire city was made of was very sturdy and even more so for the ceiling. And this, was from your first battle."

…

Well, I guess I really overdid it there. Are those all the reason though?

"Yes, you did, wrecking the entire place like that. And the last reason. Witenagemot is the largest among Mage Associations. There are numerous experts within it and it isn't limited to mages either. In fact, it would be the most correct to call it as a mutual aid society that happens to have mages in it and has relations to magic. Scholars, Monks, Preachers, Researchers, Artists, Capitalists, Nobles, Royalties, Imperial Families, it can be said to be more of a research organization first and mage association second. Naturally, it kept a huge amount of secrets and hidden information within it. Surely a person as sharp as you can see where this is going. Right?"

She asked me with a feigned innocent face.

Of course I can see where this is going. Anyone who rules it practically rules the world. He or she controls the flow of information among both the mundane and magical world. And that's not counting the secrets which would most likely includes dangerous magical secrets. And Campiones are all _reckless_ battle freaks. It wouldn't end well.

"Yes. The magical secrets includes – but not limited to – the locations of sleeping Heretic Gods, gateways to the Netherworld, Weapons of Gods, information on summoning gods, and many others. So, what if a tyrant rules the Witenagemot?"

Tyrant… like that Voban guy? Well… it'll be bad.

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it. That is why, for decades we have decided not to have a Campione. It is too dangerous and risky."

'However'…

"However, you have proven yourself to be a decent individual and with the Divine Space spell you will not make a lot of destructions. That is why I am willing to share the reasons of my reasons to you and accept you should you decides to become our Campione. Is that all?"

I see. With those reasons, I think I know just what do.

"Not yet. If I am to be the Campione of Witenagemot, I won't hear what others say and do anything I want except for a few things that I deem worth hearing or doing. Second, I don't want to be on the same building with those Elders, the only high ranking officers I want to be on the same building with are you and people with confirmed good integrity. On that subject, you will be my direct subordinate, you will only take orders from me. There is one more but it's just a small question, in any case, do you agree with the term so far?"

"…very well. I, as the _representative_ of Witenagemot accepts those terms."

She replied after a moment of contemplation. She said those words with a devious smile, obviously realizing the meaning behind those terms. It was meant so that we, me and Alice, are free from the influence of the Elders and other possible corrupt officers among the Witenagemot members. As she is the spokesperson of Witenagemot, that means that what she said represents the Witenagemot and as such, it is represents the _whole_ organization. And as my direct subordinate, she now has a practically untouchable position so they can't reprimand her.

_A smart plan. You prove to be more and more interesting._ Heh, just who the hell do you think I am? I'm the goddamn Izayoi!

"And what is your question?"

"Oh, it's nothing much really. I just want you to tell me the truth behind the past and the death of a person by the name of 'Golden Canary'."

I had realized it for a while, she had been present in Canaria's funeral. I always remembered that there was a lot of people I don't know in her funeral and that one of them is a high class-looking girl with a long blond hair who looks a bit like Asuka. I am surprised that she's still haven't aged a bit though.

**{Shrine at the Foot of the Mountain by ZUN (TH10 Mountain of Faith)}**

"…you… you are her adopted son, weren't you? The one that had caught her interest and played two games with her."

"That's right. Even as a kid, I noticed that the circumstance of her death was fishy. Seeing that you are related to the supernatural world just hit nail in the coffin."

",,,*sigh*, very well, you do have the right to know about it. First of all, I will start with her background. Years ago, we had found her as a child, soaked wet in rain and looking sick. I was about her age back then so I asked my father to save her. Back then she was so short and her hair was long in a ponytail. However, despite her shortness and rather weak body, she had a really good brain. When she was taught magic later, she can do many of the more advanced magic with smaller required magic power and make them simpler. She doesn't have a great in-born talent like being a Princess Shrine Maiden or something but her intelligence more than makes up for it.

"Anyway, she was raised raised as a magician since she lacks any memory. She had an amnesia. On the other hand, her brilliance already shines even as a child. That was why they decided to bring her to the supernatural side of the world. Honestly, I felt some sort of kinship to her and we were actually friends. She was a person of great talent and yet she had a weak body. No, that was wrong, heaven granted her a great mind and body, but not time. She can fight just fine but she became weak from time to time. As I was —and am— born with a weak and sick body, I felt some sort of similarity to her."

"Wait, sick? Why are you sick when you can use some great magic like this Ectoplasm thing? Unless…"

"Indeed, that magic, that talent itself became a curse. It weakens my body. That is a story for another for time, however. The thing is, her talent forced her to work hard. She only had her brain to help her. She has a strong, above average body for fighting but it's only to allow her to use her brain at 100% but not make it easier. With the amount of her training… she became sick. She was given a vacation to restore her health. Oh yes, by this time, she had already cut her hair short. And then, it was during that vacation that she met you, Mr. Izayoi.

"She spoke somewhat highly of you, praising your mind and for being patient enough with the world with people that is mostly below you in level without throwing a tantrum for that long. She played on your game and actually win. She was around three years older than me and also have a big motherly instinct so it wasn't a wonder that she decided to adopt you. And then you played that game with her. She chose that game so that you can grow up, seeing the world and gaining experiences. But alas, heaven really did not bless her with time.

"I had a vision, a prophecy, about an incident that could end the world. She was then called back since it was urgent but even so, she still returned to meet you and just in case, start to prepare for in case she lose but died before being able to see the result of the game. As it happen, her assignment of seeing the one that will instigate it ends with her death. She had found the instigator but that person just won't hear her word and stop from doing it. So she decides to sacrifice her life to seal that one's Authorities, scattering it across the world, with only a third of it still retained and the other two third was sealed to who knows where.

"We then found out about it and give her a funeral in which you had attended. Her death was a great loss to everyone. She was always cheerful, even more so than I and she is also ever loving and caring. Despite being raised by the Association, she is pretty much a mother, or at least an elder sister to nearly all of us. I had wanted to tell you about the truth about her circumstances but in her will, she wants her adopted children to not get dragged into this mess. We, including me, didn't really keep an eye to all of you and when you disappeared, well, I forgot about you until just now. That is the truth of Canaria, although we know not of who she was before becoming Canaria. Does that satisfy you, Mr. Izayoi?"

She said, ending her explanation. I only have one simple question to it.

"…Who was the instigator of the incident?"

I said as I clenched my hand.

"Why? are you going to avenge her or something? She wouldn't be happy you know?"

"No, as her son I _do_ have the right to at least know about it. I won't promise that I won't try to avenge her death but I promise I won't let it blind myself. I am still a rational person with a working brain. I'll kill if the person the person deserves it and spares if he or she deserves a second chance. Now spill it."

"Funny you should ask, you have one of that god's sealed Authorities on your hand."

This stone? I showed her the Stone Grimoire Melqart gave to me.

"Indeed, and remembering about that person's character, you will meet the owner soon."

"And the god's name was…?"

I asked, starting to get impatient. Is she trying to play with me or something?

"That god's name is…"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

Hurray for Cliffhanger! So who could it be? Prometheus? King Arthur? Artus Menethil the King of Knights? In any case, it's not unsolvable. Now then, a little extra before we went to the Afterword.

* * *

**Extra: **Izayoi's Backstory

The Light Novel has not been fully translated, as of this writing only V1 (Prologue to Chapter 3 of 8), V2 (Prologue to Chapter 5 of 8), and V3 (Prologue to Chapter 1) has been translated on Baka-Tsuki (Translation began just one day before this fanfic was published by the way). So, I will post a summary of Izayoi's background I found on pastebin combined with the one given to me by PCheshire which was from Allen on Animesuki. Just in case: I do not claim over it, merely re-posting and editing it for easier reading for myself and others who might be curious or wanted to write a Mondaiji fic.

.

Izayoi was a problematic kid. So he was transferred from orphanage to orphanage, adopted family to adopted family. However, none of them could please him, and he would of course, ruin the family before he left/was abandoned.

Because of his actions, he earned a big fortune. However, he was not pleased. Thus, he used this big fortune as a bait, and set up a treasure hunting game, to get people to find this sum of money.

Despite so, people gave up shortly, as they do not believe a kid has this much money or believe the game lacks clues to its win and is actually unwinnable.

However, in the last few minutes of his little game, a woman found him. She even pointed out that the game, perhaps unknown to even Izayoi himself, was NOT to find the money, but find Izayoi instead. It was perhaps, one of his childish actions to gain attention. **(X)**

Izayoi was led to admitting his defeat, and the woman then took the money, adopted Izayoi and started new games with him.

They would go around the world, seeking out the great sights and legends (probably the reason why Izayoi knows so much about these things). While on their journeys they sought out other kids that were also possessing some sort of powers. They set up an orphanage for these children.

Later on... The woman died of illness eventually...

After Izayoi got the invitation to the other world, he actually did not move there immediately. He received a call from Kasuka saying that there was a strange man with Golden Canary's last will. Because of this he decided to go to the Canaria Family Home and left the letter to later.

Izayoi got back to the Canaria Family Home. There, a young boy called Homura and a young girl called Kasuka were waiting for him. Kasuka told him that the guy who came to deliver Canaria's testament was strange and a lolicon. Homura was the one who made the headphone Izayoi is using. He even gave a new one for him to test: Crescent Moon No2. The problem was that the headphone had cat ears when used.

Then Izayoi met that strange guy. He told Izayoi to read Canaria's last will. Her very thick… book-like last will.

He took time to read it... It was like an autobiography of hers... Long and naggy... Near the end... Izayoi read... The very minute that she has predicted that he would read that part of the will then. And a casual "chat" via the will was as if conducted, or as if she knew exactly what would happen. Izayoi became excited, he became interested. Later on, the will mentioned a game, where he has to find the pages of the will, and to answer a riddle... He had to meet her and himself before 18:00, if not she was going to take everyone with her. The time was 16:00. Should he fail... Golden Canary would take away all the children in the orphanage...

And Izayoi could not find any of the children there then... He took action and leaped into his very first game. And his actual venture into a glimpse of the other world...

Izayoi deciphered what Canaria wanted and even tried to guess the strange guy identity: The Spirit of Death Baron Le Croix. The strange guy answered Izayoi telling his true name and nature: Baron Le Croix, a Loa. The Baron created a world and started fighting against Izayoi.

Izayoi destroyed most of that world and told the Baron to give up. But the Baron's (and Golden Canary's) objective was to make Izayoi be true to his feelings. After all Izayoi never used his true powers because he could destroy the world with it. As the last alternative the Baron started compressing the world and told Izayoi that the only option was to destroy him and this world.

The Baron told Izayoi that the power he was using was only a fraction of its true potential. That he could destroy a star with his gift. This was his last chance. And so…

A lot happened, and he won.

Izayoi woke up. Kasuka told him to come to have dinner. He said he was going later. Homura told Izayoi that he fixed the headphone. He told he was going later. Izayoi read the last pages of Golden Canary's testament. She gave him a choice. He could live there, as a "normal" person, or he could go to the other world where situations like the one with the Baron are normal occurrences, where the excitement would never end... And for last she said: If you have the determination of abandoning your friends, your family, your fortune, your world, go open the letter.

Izayoi opened the letter. Then he found himself falling from the sky. He started to laugh from the bottom of his heart and said:

"Goodbye my world!

Hello my new world!

From now on…

This is my wooooooooorld!"

.

There you go. I've also posted a few Mondaiji Xover Challenge/Ideas on my profile.

**(X):** From this is where the Izayoi of my story differs. Originally I simply did not know the details about her and only have a wiki's severely lacking information and filled in the blanks with my own ideas. But then, after PCheshire told me about it, I simply just decided to roll with what I have instead of revising it as I already had a long term plan with it.

Izayoi accepted his loss but refused to become her adopted son.

They then have a game again, should Izayoi lose he would become her adoptive son, should she lose she will have to play with him forever and make a place for him to play. The rule of the game was whether Izayoi can feel the emotion of a human, namely sadness and love. Canaria wins just before the time limit was up, but she was already dead by then.

He would then throw a tantrum and challenge everyone, culminating in challenging Naoe Momoyo who also lost but managed to calm him down. He then lives at the Canaria family home until he was given an Invitation Letter to Little Garden. After returning to his home and defeating the Demon Baron Le Croix sent by Canaria who sent him as a final game for Izayoi. Winning, he read Canaria's last message delivered by the Demon:

"Do anything you want to do and worry the consequences later."

It was obvious what she actually wants him to do and become. He already realized it as of now.

* * *

**Afterwords:**

The name of the chapter, Little Bird of the Waning Night is a rather elaborate pun. Little=小(sa), Bird=鳥(tori). Satori=悟り=Awakening, Comprehension, and Understanding. Izayoi's name (十六夜), means "Sixteenth Night", the _Night_ after full moon which means the _Night_ when the moon starts to _Wane_. In other words, the title basically means "Izayoi Waking Up and Understands the Situation" but that sounds lame. Because it _is_ lame I guess.

For Melqart and Alice, I pretty much did a little Alternate Character Interpretation. Melqart is a 'Prideful King', most people only go for the Prideful part while I show his King part too. And since it's on the 'background', I didn't really violate any canon since his 'public' side still looks the same. Alice, she is the Spokesperson of Witenagemot, obviously she has some Political Skills. Witenagemot, pretty much all of the top and ruling people are members of it, in the hands of a Campione it's basically the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo.

Also, Melqart here was a bit more healed after absorbing many magic energies in his way to Greece. I will give him merit that he can make Izayoi have to use explosions to add on his "Third Cosmic Velocity" punch.

I decided to 'change' his battle theme after becoming a Campione. Godou will too when he got a development. While Godou's was easy to find, I was torn between Last Phantasm and Frantic Destroyer from Gensou Shoujo Taisen. In the end I chose Last Phantasm because it was so damn cool.

Izayoi's Authority might not look strong but at full power, they can be pretty frightening. For example, [Flame] can both heal and burn anything. If he used it to its full power, he would practically be Fujiwara no Mokou. Moreover, thanks to his Gift the Authority's definition got quite muddled.

Izayoi is utterly broken, overpowered, and is hard to develop as a character. However, he _is_ meant to be like that: The word Izayoi has come to mean "sixteenth night" from the expression "izayou tsuki" (いざよう月), where "izayou" means "not to progress/proceed forward at all". His power and attitude prevents him from getting developed as a character. I do have a plan on how to develop him, however.

Lastly, I have recently created a Campione forum. The link is on my Profile. Details _-_ including next chapter's preview _-_ on the story's status is on the Story thread in that forum.

* * *

**First Published:** May 15th, 2013

**Last Edited:** July 15th, 2013


	3. 00C - As Ten Thousand Thunders

**Foreword:**

Truth is, I have done half of this Chapter and almost fully planned it by 26th of May. However, a lot of things happened. The releases of two _Touhou_ games, Final exam, Re-reading the original materials, playing _To the Moon_, the release of MGQ part 3, DragonNest's Attendance Event, and last but not least, Hata no Kokoro's cuteness. Thanks to all those obstacles, it halted my writing. I originally wanted to write some one-shots first but then I looked at the calendar and decided that it can wait until later.

It took me quite a while due to all of the above but thanks to that, I found many inspirations. Most of the 'Speculation' by Izayoi and Prometheus plus more sweet politics was the result. Kudos to taovkool for pointing something about Witenagemot for me. Though I don't know about errors, mistakes, and typos as though I have proofreaded it, I might still miss some (and all of the scenes has been rewritten at least once...). Do point them out if you found any.

Now then, this chapter aren't really exciting because it's made to setup for almost half of the story. And for the formatting, I'm still trying to find the best one but mainly, I'm aiming a Light Novel style writing though when I'm writing and reading it, I'm imagining it as a VN. The fact that I'm thinking the dialogue in Japanese before translating them to complete English didn't help (and that's why it's _Mr._ Izayoi and not Izayoi_-san_).

Ah yeah, I think I should inform people that I will be adding some things not in canon, as exampled by the last chapter. I am mainly adding things that could/should/might have been. So yeah, look forward to how I am going to break canon, okay? I wonder how many people actually say something like that. I doubt I could use anything from Volume 14 as even as I'm writing this, it's still being translated and more and more of my theories and plans were thrown out of canon. So instead of trying to follow it, I'll just go right out to the non-canon road (though I still have some basis in them).

Note that once again I am taking elements from the anime. Not the first and won't be the last.

Warning: This chapter is really heavy on the knowledge, myth, and philosophy used.

* * *

**Chapter 00C – As Ten Thousand Thunders**

* * *

**~The Way Paved~**

"That god's name is… or rather that goddess' name is Athena."

What.

Athena… where the hell is her connection to this Gorgoneion? It's an apotropaic charm depicting the Snake Medusa. Well, maybe there is in her Aigis, but what else?

_'Not directly, but more like by proxy. You're quite smart so maybe you know the origins of the Owl of Athena?'_

Owl of Athena… it descended from…

I see. The Owl of Athena, it was what made many mythographers suggested that Athena descended from the Minoan palace goddess. The Minoan civilization mainly worshipped Goddesses. They adopted the Matriarchal Religion. There are three important concepts in it: The Mother Goddesses, The Snake Goddesses, and the Triple Goddesses.

That means…

"Athena was originally a Triple Goddess. The Serpent, the Mother Earth Goddess, and the Goddess of Wisdom, am I wrong?"

"Ping pong, 85 points. That was truly close but you have not reached her root yet."

So I missed a little. But where?

"Athena was a triparte Goddess. Do you know what they consists of?"

Let's see. Obviously it was Medusa and Athena. The last one should naturally be… Metis.

"Yes that is correct. Hmm… at this rate you should eventually come to the answer so, I shall wait for you to finish thinking or give up before explaining."

Hm… oh yeah, that's right, after giving birth to Athena, she was almost never heard of again in the myths.

Medusa and Metis, in hindsight the name was similar but the question was Athena, the name is too different in this one. From the pattern, it was probably another proxy, so it's… Minerva? Minerva's name was said to have come from Menvra, Menerwa, or Meneswa. That's close enough to me.

So from Metis 'the Wisdom', to Meneswa 'she who measures', to Medusa 'the Guardian'.

I frowned at that. That was quite the degradation.

From the Titaness of Wisdom, dominated by Zeus then becoming Athena who protects her father and then becoming a Snake monster. Wait, dominated by Zeus? If she came from Matriarchal Religion then shouldn't she be the one… who… dominates…

"—Athena was originally an Empress, a Queen, a Chief Goddess. However, Zeus took her position, reduced her into a mere daughter who protects him, and finally turns her Snake aspect into that of Medusa meaning 'protectress'. Athena was a triparte Goddess of Wisdom, a Great Mother of Earth, and the Queen Goddess ruling over the Underworld."

There are many things that connects all of them, among all of them is Snake. Representing immortality, rebirth, fertility, guardianship, vengefulness, and vindictiveness, they thus naturally represents Earth Goddesses in tandem with other animals symbolizing fertility such as the Bull.

An Earth Goddess can be quite cruel and vindictive in taking the harvest during winter or through disaster. Moreover, most of the time it was said that Underworld is in a deep cave or deep under the Earth (duh).

Another thing that connects them are wisdom. The Goddess of Wisdom asides, the Great Mother of Earth and the Empress of Goddess has association with Wisdom too.

The Goddess who governs over the Earth… the Empress who governs over a Kingdom… wisdom is a requirement and natural result for their position. All three of them also have connections with pomegranate, which symbolizes mystery, unknown, the dead, the underworld, and wisdom over good and evil.

Underworld and Earth, it is connected by the concepts of darkness and winter. Whenever it was winter, it was said that Persephone is with Hades _in the Underworld_. The snow and coldness equals suffering for the people (which was the reason why Fire is important) and in winter, visibility and daytime are reduced, thus despite the whiteness of the snows, it is closer to that of _darkness_.

Snake. Earth. Wisdom. Darkness. …night.

"Athena was the Titaness of the Night. The night, the time when the sky is dark, when everything is hidden. It hides secrets like a veil. Yet it also shows guidance in the form of stars and the moon. Guidance and secrecy, to show and to not show, to reveal and to hide, to act and to not act. That is the essence of wisdom. She is Wisdom because she is Night, not the reverse. That is the true nature of Athena. The true name and root is most likely Nyx."

…

Alice was silent, then she started clapping.

"Amazing. I did not thought that you are this smart, Mr. Sakamaki Izayoi. To understand the true nature of Athena in such a short time. I am not sure about the true name part but the others are very much sound. Still, it might be true since the prophecy I talked about earlier was that of her starting the 'Starless Night'."

She voiced her amazement of me. _'It is normal to be amazed. You did figured out what most people won't be able to figure out with just a really small amount of clue.'_ Well… let's just say I'm used to it.

Though I seem to have been used too much with Little Garden's mechanism that I instinctively said that her true name was Nyx. I thought of it due to her being a personification of Night, formerly a Queen or Empress of Goddesses, and a Great Mother Goddess of Earth. It somewhat made sense to me but I really think that I was too used with Little Garden's way.

I was about to ask Prometheus for confirmations but Alice's next question prevented me.

"Now then, I would like to know what would you do once you meet her, Mr. Izayoi?"

That's an important question. Let's see…

"As I said, I'll meet her first then decide after that. Though since it is me we are talking about, I'll probably flirt a bit, have a little duel, then ask her to explain over a cup of tea, and then I finally decide."

"…yes, that seems to be quite in-character for you. *sigh* so, I guess we're done here?"

She half-stated half-asked to me.

"Yeah, I guess."

So Prometheus, how do I restore the Divine Space? _'Let me handle that.'_

After he said that, I felt some power coursing through my body then coming outside.

Little by little, the surroundings are being restored. Initially it had looked like as if a storm, an earthquake, and a tsunami had hit it in the same time. After a few minutes the surroundings was restored to how it was, completely erasing the evidence of the fight between me and Melqart.

Finally, the Divine Space disappeared and we appeared on the real world(?).

**[Near Mount Parnassus (21:51)]**

"Well, I'll get back to that branch headquarter of Witenagemot. And you're going to arrange for a plane to England?"

"Yes, that is the plan. I seems to be quite working overtime here."

Don't care, not my problem. Her eye twitched at that.

"Well then Mr. Izayoi, I bid you farewell for now. Do try not to create any problem while I am away, please?"

"…I'll try."

No promise. I turned my back away from her at that.

"Please make it that at least you mean it… in any case Mr. Izayoi, I shall be off now."

"Have a safe trip."

I waved at her from behind, she then faded away.

Now then, let's get back to that place. Though I think I'll grab a few snacks on the way back. Fighting a God took energies after all.

_'And what will you pay them with?'_ Who said I'm, buying anything?

_'What a troublesome fellow. Though I do not have any right to stop you since I am a thief too…'_

And maybe I can test some of the Authorities on the way back too, finding some nice mundane utility. Yeah, that's a nice idea.

With that, I then started to walk back towards the local branch of Witenagemot.

…and ended my technical first day returning to my world. It _was_ tiring, but…

Heh, who would have thought this world to be so fun?

**~Lightning Blitz (vs Alec)~**

**[Alice's Bedroom, March 30th (12:34)]**

After a day's rest and an airplane ride, I finally arrived at Alice's mansion in Hampstead.

I already told her that I did not want to deal with the whole 'respected Devil King' thing yet and told her to just bring me to her room.

And so, I stood before her sleeping (real) body.

"So you're really sick, huh?"

She flatly stared at me.

"…I thought I already told you, Mr. Izayoi."

I shrugged at that. Though I do am somewhat curious with what made her like this. Should I ask?

1. Ask her bluntly.

2. Ask her later.

…

I chose the second. I have something better to do and asking about the background can wait until after it.

I then approached her body.

"…you are not going to do anything weird to, aren't you?"

"Don't worry, I won't."

Prometheus, is it possible to heal her? _'From the looks of it, yes. She should be healed enough to be able to wake up and walk around again, though for her to be able to use her full potential, she needs to continuously be supported by the [Light] Authority so you'll need to forge a contract of some sorts to her.'_

Let me guess, it involves kissing? _'It does. How did you…'_ Genre Savvy-ness. When talking about contracts, it's usually blood contract, deal with the devil, geis, oath, kiss, or tantric ritual. I simply thought the fifth is most likely due to the nature of the contract.

And besides, Campione are immune to magic so it somewhat made sense.

Well, that's a business for later anyways. Now how do I heal her? _'The divine [Flame], it can both burn and heal. Use it to heal her body. Say it to her first of course.'_

"Hey Alice, you won't complain if I heal your body won't you?"

"…what?"

"As I said, I'm going to heal your body. Though it involves using my… [Flame of Purification] Authority so don't be surprised by it, alright?"

Before she could response, I already used it. The flame engulfed her body, but it didn't burn her. I could actually see that the white-colored flame was healing her.

In the middle of the healing however, I heard a sound of electricity… of lightning in the room.

I turned around – Alice's real body still burning, and saw a guy standing in front of me – seemingly surprised. Well, anyone would if they saw other people literally on fire.

* * *

**Another View: The Black Prince**

Alexandre Gascoigne was just going to visit _Princess_ Alice Louise to ask something to her. He was expecting her to have expected his arrival and he expected it to go as it usually would.

So naturally it truly surprised him to see her body within a flame. When he examined it, he saw that it didn't burn her at all. In fact, he felt that it was healing her from how her body looked healthier.

He then switched his focus to the man near her, the one who seems to be conjuring the flame. Alec's brow narrowed at him. This guy… he's not a normal human but not a God either. Could he be a Campione?

"Yo. I presume that you are that Alec guy Alice had been talking about?"

He stopped his thoughts and nodded, then examined him in more detail. Somehow, it felt like he was a crude person…

"Well then nice to meet you. I am Sakamaki Izayoi, just like my appearance suggests, I am a crude, brutal, and hedonistic person. Oh, and I recently became a Campione after killing two Gods."

Alec wanted to shake his head at the just named Sakamaki Izayoi's introduction. It was the most stupid introduction he ever heard.

Still, he said that he killed two Gods. Could they be that Melqart and the mysterious Phoenix God from the recent reports? Alec was not sure, so he would just have to ask.

"Alexandre Gascoigne, the Black Prince. The two Gods you mentioned, was it Melqart and the unknown Phoenix God from Sardinia?"

"Yeah, you're right. I honestly don't think that it's really important. What's more important is… mind if we have a little duel?"

Now he started to dislike this Campione. He was just another barbaric God-Slayer like all the others.

"I have no reason to fight you."

Despite how he looked and acted, the Black Prince is more of a pacifist. Well, _technically_ a pacifist. He would _try_ to avoid conflict if possible.

Not that it usually worked nor did he seems to be really trying. The fact that he likes to take things, make troubles, and have little common sense probably did not help.

"Oh? Then what if I attack you? Alice, the treatment's done. I am going to construct a Divine Space, don't enter it and just observe from outside, alright?"

The flame disappeared when he said that. Alice Louise nodded at his question, though it was more of a statement. She understood that Campiones are beings of great egos, sense of rivalries, and obsession of winning so she could somewhat understand why Sakamaki Izayoi wished to fight Alec. Still didn't justify his action in Alec's eye though.

The surrounding then became distorted before becoming just like how it was before, only much redder. A Divine Space… well at least Alec now have some motivation to win: Force him to teach the Black Prince how to use it. As far as he knew, only Gods were able to use it and even then only few would actually use it.

Finding it was truly quite a nice catch. All he needed to do, was to beat this overconfident Campione.

Both Campiones stared at each other.

"I will not hold back."

Alec said as a warning. He was actually going to hold back for a while to see this blond Campione's capabilities.

But honestly, what was it with blond Campiones being muscle-brained battle maniac idiots?

**{Shōtoku Legend ~ True Administrator by U2 (Touhou 13.5 Hopeless Masquerade)}**

"Hah! That's fine. That's exactly how what I want it. Now… let's start!"

The Black Prince immediately moved using his [Black Lightning] when he said that—

—And just as immediately, his enemy was then launched into through the window and fell down. Alec followed him outside.

"Ow, that hurts… So you have a God Speed Authority, eh? This should be interesting."

He was then enveloped in a [Light]. Then, he was in front of Alec before he had the chance to activate his Authority. He then punched him in the face, throwing him some tens of meters away.

"Heheh, now then, let's dance."

He then moved again. This time, Alec was prepared so he immediately activated his Authority.

The [Black Lightning], an Authority allowing him to move in God Speed. Unless he manifested its Avatar form, it would be restricted to the 'small' speed of 500 km/h. He intended to humor his enemy for a while, so he decided to not immediately manifest his avatar form.

Still, he had to admit, it was quite impressive for him to keep up with Alec's speed. Punch upon punches the enemy thrown, it was only slightly slower than Alec's.

It made up for it by moving before Alec started to move however, almost like he knew what the Nobleman of Lightning will do. The fact that the blond Campione was able to keep up with Alec somewhat interested him too.

The reason was simple, it took him a long time to gain control of his Authority to make precise movements. Alec's enemy however, was a newborn Campione not even reported by the Witenagemot yet.

And yet, even as he was thinking, this newborn Campione was able to precisely know and counter the attacks he was going to make. Alec didn't even dare to try to play around using his pen. His opponents was too dangerous.

Alec thrown a kick. But just before he did so, the enemy Campione already start a kick to intercept his own. At the same time he started the kick, he punched using both fists and _again_ the enemy moved just before he did and thrown a punch to intercept it too.

That was fine, he knew that there are people that have mind's eye capable of seeing through God Speed, it did not disturb him. The one thing that really disturbed him however, was the Campione being able to, no, expertly able to move so precisely.

But how? To be able to make such level of movements, one need to be accustomed with the high speed first. And he only just gained his Authority a few days ago at most. Did this meant that his enemy was already used to moving at such speeds even before becoming a Campione? Ludicrous!

*SWISH*

A punch narrowly missing his head – but hitting enough to draw some blood – dragged him out of his musings.

"Oioi, Edward, you should be daydreaming while fighting at this speed!"

Edward? His name was Alexandre Gascoigne, hard to pronounce but hard to mistake especially _that_ far.

Regardless, it is about time for to get serious. He retreated – leaving the annoyed opponent – and transformed, manifesting the Avatar form of his [Black Lightning].

Then, without a warning, he hit his enemy.

"Wha—"

Thrown away, the blond Campione seems to be quite shocked. That's good. Alec needed to keep pressing his advantage and not let the enemy gather his thought.

Again he hit the enemy. And then again. And again. Again. Again. Again. Not even letting his enemy stand, no, not even landing!

Eight times, sixteen, thirty two, sixty four, one hundred twenty eight hits in total within the span of less than five seconds.

Finally, with all his might, he launched the enemy as high as he could into the air. After that, he flied as high as he could into the air… and dropped an elbow on his enemy like a hammer.

*BAAAAM*

The resulting impact was great. So great it left the area in smokes and dusts.

Alec immediately cleaned his clothes from the dusts.

"Hmph, this will teach you not to get so cocky so as to challenge your much more experienced senior."

Alexandre Gascoigne was a Campione. Again, even if he doesn't look – let alone act – like one, it is an undeniable fact. He had his pride.

And yet… this kid dared to challenge him when he was not even a week old as a Campione? Foolishness, truly a great foolishness.

That was why he chose to give an utter beat down to this newcomer. In addition to teach him a lesson, it was because he was greatly annoyed by the new Campione's cocky and childish attitude.

Moreover, this lesson should teach him to not be like those other… barbaric Campiones. If not, well… he might get annoyed and be unreasonable. But the possibility of it was low as this was the Campione chosen by that _'White Princess'_.

He snorted as he was reminded of his rival. Despite how she acts, she would only trust a few person. For her to have let him in and chose him as their organization's Campione, she must have evaluated his personality to be good. And as much as he hated to admit it, the _Princess_ did had a nice judgement of character.

After thinking that, Alec was prepared to leave. Just as he was about to turn into lightning once again, he heard a laugh.

"…AHAHAHAFUHAHABWAHAHAHA."

What the? Did he gave the Campione a brain damage or something?

…no… this… somehow his instinct was screaming at him to run away immediately. But he didn't follow it. In hindsight, he would regret not following it.

"Hoh, I see, becoming a lightning eh? That's interesting. But the fun has only started!"

**{Last Phantasm (Koumajou Densetsu II)}**

The blonde immediately rushed at him. Alec naturally transformed into lightning and evaded it.

"That lightning form really is useful but it has some weaknesses!"

At the place Alec landed, the enemy God-Slayer was somehow already there. Just as Alec was about to turn around to face him, he was blown away.

He… he was hit? But how?! He was a lightning! You just can't punch lightning! He was intangible as lightning.

The Black Prince moved away from his initial place… only to find himself getting smacked away before even landing.

"First, it may give you the speed of lightning, but it's only for the moment you activate it. If I hit you before you start moving, then you can't evade it."

At the next place Alec appeared, again he was already there. Alec expected it as had already fought against another enemy with similar mind's eye so he just punched at him.

To his shock, it only very slightly slowed the blonde Campione's attack.

"Second, when you became the avatar of lightning, you reduced yourself into a mere lightning. It may be fast – and undamageable for others – but it's so weak I can just tank through your attacks."

Yes that was true. That was the reason he had to fly all the way up before elbowing his enemy, otherwise he won't deal too big of a damage. But still, to only get slightly flinched by it? That was crazy.

Alec needed room… at this point his only way left to face him was to be unpredictable and make him unable to react. But unfortunately, even that advantage doesn't exist anymore…

He dashed towards the smirking enemy to deliver a punch from behind… but it was him that was punched away instead.

"Third, just like a real lightning, you release positive streamers at your destination point. It's fast, but from where I'm standing, you might as well tell me where you are going to move and attack next."

Alec was moving very fast. In the realm of God Speed, everything was slowed down. Rather than moving very fast, it was more like accelerating your own time very much. He acted and perceived time much faster than others.

Unfortunately, the ability did not come with the ability to handle the stress that came from it. The _physical_ stresses was supposed to be averted by manifesting the Avatar form.

Indeed, just as you might have deduced, it was never said that it averts _any_ other problem. Including the ability to register and react to everything that the mind had perceived.

So while Alec already saw the punch coming to him, he was unable to react against it as his mind was too slow to alter the commands already given to the body.

There were reasons why he always plans his movements among them was because he cannot change the way he moves once he made the command, merely slightly influence it.

And so, Alec was thrown away after narrowly altering his trajectory so that the punch would hit somewhere around his right floating ribs instead the area in between both side's floating ribs, which would almost certainly knock him out with the puncher's strength.

*SMACK**BOOM*

Alec landed on the ground, in a crater. He was brought out of his Avatar form due to the sheer power of the punch. He climbed and looked at the 'person' who put him in this situation.

"From what I've seen, the problem seems to lie on your mind and especially the intent. You didn't have those weakness when you didn't transform into lightning so it's probably a drawback from the transformation. Probably because human's mind aren't made to handle a body made of lightning and all the things that came from it."

While they all made sense, he had to say that it was just crazy. Even if they were all true, no one should notice all of them. Let alone able to take advantages of each and every one of them. He – being a lightning – was just way too fast.

But this enemy clearly was not in the realm of reason. As crazy as Campiones are, once you got used to their over-the-top-ness, things could actually makes some sense or somewhat normal.

Alec was a Campione, someone whose mere existence went against reason and common sense, and he understood it. But even he found what this one had been doing to be way beyond insane. He did punched lightning like it was nothing but mere air soft pellets.

The unreasonable Campione approached the Black Prince's crouching form, now back in [Black Lightning]'s Avatar form. He was smirking, something that chilled the Black Prince.

"And the last… it's too obvious that it is your trump card. Then what if it was disabled and you can't use it?"

…shit. Alec immediately thought between trying to interrupt him or retreat. Naturally, it was the latter.

And then, he found himself locked in a dome of water, conjured by his enemy, obviously. Passing through won't really harm him – he already tested it – but the water will absorb his electricity and makes him weaker, slower.

And that would be very fatal the battle against this one.

_"Take, take, take. Take all from the King, strip him of his treasure, of his throne, of his authority. The thief shall usurp all he once possessed!"_

With flaming fist he rushed towards Alec, readjusting his direction mid-way to match Alec's own. His fist was blocked by Alec crossing his arms but it still left him thrown away. The young man's power was truly high, it would not be weird for him to be able to kill a dragon in a single punch. Unknown to him, Sakamaki Izayoi pretty much already did that on his first day in the other world.

*CRACK*

Alec felt something within him cracked and then shattering. He… he could not feel his [Black Lightning]! It's gone! How in the…

Sakamaki Izayoi, wrapped in lightning sparks like how he would be when using [Black Lightning] appeared in front of him. He was then roundhouse kicked, thrown away into the air.

As he was thrown away, Alec's mind wondered away. Then he remembered, Edward was the name of an England Prince also titled Black Prince. So that's why he called him Edward…

Hitting the ground brought him out of his idle thoughts however.

"Gahgh!"

Did, did he just used his [Black Lightning]?! He, this person can steal others' Authority!

"Yeah, I can steal others Authority."

He spoke, confirming his thoughts.

"In the end you just have too poor of a compatibility against me. Maybe if you had two lightning Authorities and able to manifest both of their Avatar forms, then you might stand a chance against me."

What? He sort of has a point, but just gaining one was already hard. That's why, manifesting two, TWO Avatar form at the same time? Impossible.

"Hm? You thought it is impossible, weren't you? Well then hear this. We are the Campione. The job's title is lame, admittedly, but it has the best job description ever: We do the impossible daily for a living. Our mere existence is a slap in the face of reason. It can't get any more awesome than that. And yet, you're thinking it impossible?"

He got a point… Alec had to admit that.

"I guess I will just have to prove that it isn't that hard to do the 'impossible'. I'll manifest the Avatar form of this Authority of yours."

No, no, it took him years, no way, no way, oh who was he kidding? This guy would probably really do it!

And he really did it.

"Hmm, so this is how it feels being a lightning, huh? Quite energizing I have to admit."

What took him years, was replicated in terms of minute by this other Campione.

As much as angry he felt, Alexandre Gascoigne was a person who used reason and intellect. Reckless he might be sometimes, he was a Campione who plans things up. And so, when both his reason and instinct told him to bolt away as soon as possible, he naturally followed it.

The fact that his instinct also said that he could reverse the situation if he managed to get far enough also helped. As someone who always fought with clever tactics and strategies, Alec know the meaning behind it: He would regain his [Black Lightning] back. He could then simply just use its attack mode, the [Black Thunder] to reverse the tide of the battle.

And so he quickly formed a plan to get away. As that Campione has his [Black Lightning], he would need some serious measures to stop him.

So, he simply just use all the Authorities he has.

First of all, he immediately used [The Labyrinth] as its Spell Word was short.

The buildings and the ground was rearranged as it was transformed into a maze. Alec didn't immediately move.

Instead, he used his [Judging Furies]. He had already prepared it since he was punched in his Avatar form so he only need to activate it now.

Alec had no way of confirming it but at least some of the damages done on the surroundings should be reflected back to Sakamaki Izayoi by the Erinyes from Alec's [Judging Furies].

He also summoned the [Faceless Queen] and used the [Wandering Avarice] to pin him while he escaped.

And he managed to do it… for only one minute. In hindsight he should have remembered that that guy currently has the Authority allowing lightning speed movement, which means he could also throw punches at lightning speed too (roughly 150 kilometers per _second_).

And as we know, Sakamaki Izayoi's ability was not muscle-based, but rather something along the lines of force field or tactile telekinesis so the lack of weight and hardness from becoming a lightning hardly effects his strength at all.

Alec's mind was empty. He blanked as the tremor, the sound of demolition approached him. He could simply gape. Why? Because that was just how crazy and unreasonable that guy is.

The last wall was shattered, and the blond Campione appeared with a smirk—

"No. Sell."

—And this time he was kicked. Really, this day was not his day.

He thought he could just escape, but no, he could not. Worse, he felt that some of his Authorities was also, somehow, sealed. And worst of all, this whole condition, is a total loss for him.

It was only because his enemy was bored that he returned the stolen Authority to him that he was able to escape.

"Alright, you can have your Authority back."

Alec immediately chose to retreat. He knew things better, that he and this Campione really, really had a poor battle compatibility.

"But before you go, here's a little souvenir! _Black Vipers!_"

Two black snakes appeared, intertwined themselves around Alec, before biting him around the leg and the shoulder.

Finally, with his control of his [Black Lightning] fully returned, he flied and returned to the Royal Arsenal's HQ, and into his room.

Limping, he drank all of his emergency magic potions before lying on the bed. When he did, he noticed there was something in the left leg's pocket which was bitten by one of the [Serpents].

He found that it was a letter. A letter requesting an _alliance with that Sakamaki Izayoi_ in exchange for at the very least, him teaching how to create a Divine Space. Further terms will be negotiated during the meeting, it said. It also said that he had an urgent matter to discuss and that he won't challenge him to a fight when they meet.

Alec naturally crumpled and thrown away the letter. That guy had the nerve to request an alliance after beating the crap out of him?

Granted, he did felt that when his [Black Lightning] was returned, it was somewhat more powerful, most likely because it and he did gained some experiences.

Still, the urgent matter piqued his curiosity. And the Divine Space too. Alec sighed. It seems that he could not afford to ignore the letter.

But really, when the hell did that guy had the time to write this letter?

**Another View End.**

* * *

Good thing I managed to leave him a message. I was lucky that among the building that was moved by that guy's Authority was a stationery shop, otherwise I would have to use the legal channels and wait for a long time.

He seemed to be quite interested in the Divine Space so I figured it'd be a good negotiation chip. I don't know whether he will respond or not though.

Well, I'll just have to wait, there's a more interesting problem right now.

According to what Prometheus said, the Authorities I've gained from him was for some reason slightly corrupted or mutated. The Authority to steal… the… [Sacred Thief] was effected too.

Originally, it should only work after knowing enough about the enemy Deity – both in character and legend – and then punching the Authority.

Now it only need the punching part, as long as I have weakened it enough with my ability. Though unfortunately, it also has the limitation of me being unable to use any other Prometheus Authority during the time it was active.

The same seems to apply to Melqart's Authority too. With the Storm Serpent… the [Black Serpent] I can summon solid serpents. I don't know how many I could summon, but it was certain that it could be more than one.

I have a feeling that all of the Authorities have been modified somewhat, even more than average for most Campione's cases. My guess that it was due to my Gift.

Ah well, I can ponder about it later. For now I'll restore and dispel this Divine Space. Since Prometheus already used it enough that I had feel for it, I can now use it without his assistance.

And so, with that, the curtain of my first fight with my fellow Campione, fell down. It was quite anticlimactic as the previous enemies was stronger and harder to fight but it cannot be helped, the two of us had to poor of a compatibility with the advantages mostly on my side.

Still, he would make a good ally though.

The restoration was finally finished, and I started to walk back to the mansion.

Midway through, I was fetched by Alice in a limo, who was understandably quite upset.

As a punishment, she said that I will have to deal with the Elders and the 'respected Devil King' business today.

Well then, let's just try to enjoy it, shall we? And besides, I have a chance of paying her back later…

**~Dawning Sky~**

**[Alice's Mansion, March 31st (04:30)]**

I stood in front of a giant window in an empty corridor, watching the empty sky.

*TAP**TAP**TAP*

I heard the sound of someone's footsteps. Without turning, I already knew it was Alice, I already remembered the sound of her footsteps.

"Ah, Mr. Izayoi, you are already awake? I thought you would be one to sleep late into the noon."

How rude, I am quite a (relatively) morning person actually.

"I enjoy watching the sun rising so I like to wake up early sometimes."

_'What a liar, the true reason was that because—' _Yeah, yeah, whatever. _'You do know that it is rude to cut people off, right?'_

"So, how's your body?"

_'First he cut me off, now he ignored me?'_

"Hm? …Ah! Er… it is quite… fine actually."

Ahaha! She's blushing! How cute. Looks like she was still embarrassed from what we had to do last night in order to forge a contract so that she can use her full power.

Now I see why she seemed so tired, she probably slept late last night. Or didn't slept at all. Still, the way she kept her head down and tightly grabbing her dress was just cute, don't you think, Prometheus?

…no response. He seems to be sulking.

"Ah, yes! That reminds me, I have written a draft for reporting about you… please wait for a bit."

She finally responded after losing interest on her feet.

Alice then returned to the hallway she came from, most likely towards her room. I resumed watching the sun starts to rise, the sky started to be filled by twilight.

Other than me and Alice making a contract so that she can be supported by my [Light] Authority, the [Brightest in the Sky] Authority, we also spoke to the Elders yesterday.

It was a very hilarious conversation (for me). Them trying to deny and later apologizing to me while I just smiled and continued my accusations… it was very, very amusing (again, for me).

After a while, Alice finally returned back to me, holding a few sheets of paper.

"Here it is, you might want to check it before I publish it."

I read the draft for the report she offered to me.

**.**

**Excerpt from the Italian mage Alberto Ricardo's Book, Demon King, 19th Century**

...To those who accomplished this formidable feat, I grant them the title of **Campione** – **Godslayer** – .

Among all virtuous readers, some will probably believe that I over-exaggerate with that title and frown, while others will think that I am making undue fuss over it.

However, I want to emphasize it, once again.

Campione – Godslayer – is the supreme ruler.

Since he can kill a celestial being, he can therefore call on the highly divine powers held by the gods.

Campione – Godslayer – is a lord.

Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore have the power to dominate the mortals on Earth.

Campione – Godslayer – is a devil.

Therefore of the entire humanity living on earth, those who have the power to oppose them do not exist!

**Excerpt from the Letter of Cardinal Antonio Tebes, Addressed to the Vatican, Early 20th Century**

For the purpose of going against Providence, playing with the demonic knowledge of mages, he received the title of **King** from them.

Concerning the name that you were hearing more or less.

Campione – Godslayer – is Epimetheus's illegitimate child. The devil.

Unfortunately, we mortals cannot fight against them.

The ones who can fight against them, are his fellow Campiones, Our Heavenly Father's angels, and the taboo pagan gods...

**Report of Witenagemot Concerning the Verification of the New Campione**

The Devil, the Adversary, the Ruler of Hell, self-proclaimed Lord of This World, Satan.

In Judeo-Christian, it was said that he once an angel. A Seraphim. The highest-ranked angel in the heavens bearing six wings.

However, he was a prideful one. And it led to his downfall. He would eventually lead a rebellion against God.

He was a very famous Devil, and he has many counterparts around the world.

There were so many versions of him in countless religions and myths. Though there different versions, everyone in this world should know about at least one version of him.

But one thing that remained the same, it was that he was the enemy of mankind. The embodiment of all evil in this world.

It was this Devil that Sakamaki Izayoi had slain.

**[Report on Sakamaki Izayoi], Compilation of the Greenwich assembly**

As said above, Sakamaki Izayoi has slain the Heretic Satan and gained his Authorities. Every single one of them, was very powerful.

And unlike the recently reported Kusanagi Godou, his Authorities had little to no limitations.

Thus, he was a true monster, a Devil King of a high caliber.

One thing that can be confirmed about him however, that he could create problem at any time and solve any problems at any time according to his whim. As such, he was a true Wild Card, a Joker.

That is why, everyone, I would ask you to be careful around him. While as a Campiones, he was a fairly good one that would deal with his own problems and would appeal to reasons.

However, at the same time a ruthless one who would crush both the weak and the strong if they ever get in his way.

Never forget, that he is a Campione. We mages in the end were mere imitations of them and we are powerless against them.

.

After that, it was a brief profile of myself including how to deal with me. It only took me a short time to finish reading the three paged report.

Huh, I now have a literal Rules of Use and Dosage Guidelines for when interacting and dealing with me.

Prometheus is also hidden as Satan, which could also hide my [Flames] as the [Flames of Hell].

Nice. Though I am interested in something…

"What's with the first two parts?"

"Ah, that is a standard preamble for a Campione Report, it is only formality."

I simply gave an 'I see' to that. I then noticed something peculiar.

"Alberto Ricardo, could he be the one who first called Campione as Campione?"

"Why yes. Because he was the first to write about them, it became a title for all the God-Slayers. Although I have to admit, it was… not a very grand title."

Yeah. It basically meant Champion or Ace in Italian. Though it does makes a better book title than Conquistatore and the other titles more than makes up for it.

That said, there is a much more pressing issue than that however, namely, whether to publish it or not. I asked Prometheus for his opinion.

_'Becoming famous has its perks, however, if we are not known yet…'_ We can take some stealthy actions and becomes really mysterious and unpredictable. Both ideas have merits.

If we are known, we can act freely without needing to hide anything and able to use special privileges.

If we are unknown, we can act freely without anything to restrain us as long as we are being sneaky.

Both has its own merits, but… _'It would be best to be unknown at such an early stage. Maybe later, but definitely not now.'_ Yeah, I agree.

Well then, that's how we are going to do it.

"This report… don't publish it. At least not yet."

She looked confused when I said that.

"Why? Won't you get great benefits from that? You can fulfill your duty and your wishes much easier if you do that."

That's true, however, things aren't that simple.

"Do remember that my main objective is to gather the Campiones and gain information. The latter can only be done easier if I am not known yet, and for the former that means I can sneak into their territories much more easily."

And if I _do_ need to battle – something which I almost certainly would and gladly do – I could just make a Divine Space that is undetectable except by Campiones and Heretic Gods.

On a side note I have already told her of my plan and objectives yesterday. She then contemplated my words and reached a conclusion.

"I see… yes, it would be wise not to reveal yourself this early in the plan… however, what are we to do with the other people?"

Yes, they would surely be mad that the Witenagemot are withholding information. We might face some protests and distrusts. This will threaten the information network of the Witenagemot, the main reason why it was the best Magical Association for one to join other than its mutual aiding nature.

"Then make a cover story. 'We did not found anyone in the ruins, however we have recently found and contacted him. He answered about our questions and then he decided to join our organization.' Or something to that tone, it doesn't matter. We can think all of the details later, but for now, let's just stay silent."

"Yes, although the Elders would probably not be amused by this."

Well there can be only one answer to that: Talk to the hand.

"The bare hands of a Campione can rip humans to shreds easily, hmhmm. In other words, 'shut it or I'll turn you into a minced meat.'"

What inelegant words. It would be better to call it threats or intimidations. _'That's just as bad.' _Oh, yeah. An idea then. _'Or a suggestion.'_ Yeah, a suggestion.

"In any case, I will be prepare on how to report it to the Elder. But for now, hm… I honestly think that you should have a title. You have managed to defeat two strong Gods and a very experienced Campione in such a brief time after all…"

I agree. I somewhat deserve a title. A badass title. Alice looked at the window then she visibly perked up, showing that she got an idea.

"Let's see… how about... the Crown Prince of the Dawning Sky?"

That's not a bad title, albeit somewhat long. It's short in Japanese though (暁天太子, Kyouten Taishi).

"Sure, why not? It somewhat fits anyway."

She nodded to my reply.

"Yes, I think so too... now then Mr. Izayoi, I am going to prepare on how to tell the Elder. Later in the noon, there is a place I would like to show you. An important place."

"Alright, see you later then."

She went away while I was still in there. Finally, when the sun has fully raised, I decided to take a walk around the building.

**~Great Library~**

**[Witenagemot's HQ in Greenwich (14.22)]**

I and Alice were taking a walk in the hallway in Witenagemot's HQ. We were just here yesterday but apparently there was something she had to show to me.

We went there through train and a taxi cab, taking three trains in total and taking around one and a half hour before reaching the HQ.

On a side note, Alice is using her real body so as to get used to it. It was among the things we talked with the Elders yesterday.

Her father cried and thanked me for a long time that it annoyed me. Watching the face of the Elders when I accused them of their plans had counterbalanced it though.

It was really, really hilarious.

Walking through the hall, we went deeper and lower into the building. Along the way, I proposed a few plans to Alice.

"To create a unit like that… it'll be quite hard."

"Maybe, but you can see the merit, right?"

We discussed the details of some of the plans, making alterations as needed.

"Indeed I could. The problem is that it would be quite a challenge to realize it, especially on the volunteer."

"Well, I am mainly making it as a way to pass time but—"

As it happens, I already had a solution for that problem. I proposed my idea on how to deal with the problem given by her.

"But Mr. Izayoi, that would be…"

"Yeah, risky, daring, and difficult, I know. But that is a part of the bigger plan."

Though we were both walking, I could see that she was truly paying attention to my ideas.

"In addition to that, we could also create some rules within the organization. A constitution you can say. That, and my previous idea, you can say that it would revolutionize Witenagemot. Changes are always vital and needed within everything but more than that, it would place _me_ in the spotlight."

She stopped walking and turned to face me, focusing her attention on me and what I was saying.

"Right now, I can't announce the fact that I am a Campione. However, having a favorable and respectable reputation would certainly help: 'Sakamaki Izayoi, an enigmatic individual who revolutionized the Witenagemot. A person who believes in equal rights and justice.' Or something to that effect."

"But what if the time for you to announce yourself as a Campione has come?"

I already took account of that inevitability.

"When the time comes, just make some cover story: 'He was a person who doesn't want other to bow to him and rather would like people to treat him like a normal person instead', 'He wanted to avoid people's greed and attempts to suck up on him', or 'He needed to go undercover to see the root of Witenagemot's problems', well, anything that would put me in a good light."

She nodded her head before putting her thumb on her lips as she contemplated the options. Finally, she reached a decision.

"Yes… yes that is a truly good idea. It gives us gain in both short-term and long-term, the option has the most benefits in my opinion. In any event, we shall put the issue behind us for now. We have reached the place I wanted to show you."

In front of us was a big door. There were two guards standing guard on each ends of the tall and grand door. As it happens however, they did not notice me, only Alice. Why? Because I was using my [Stealth] Authority, [Hidden Heroism]. It has the ability to the extent of hiding myself and my actions. Actually, it works more on the vein of making both of them as interesting as a pebble.

Anyway, the guards nodded at Alice and opened the door. We entered and the door was quickly closed again.

"Well then Mr. Izayoi, welcome to the Grand Labyrinth Library of Magic, Gabardine Library."

**[Great Library Gabardine]**

**{Locked Girl ~ The Girl's Secret Room by U2 (Touhou Scarlet Weather Rhapsody)}**

Well, I have to admit that this is quite the library…

True to the somewhat lengthy name, it was a very grand library, large, wide, and luxurious looking. It also looked like a labyrinth from the entrance which was placed one level higher than the height of the shelves. And true to its name – Gabardine Library – it was somewhat cramped and arranged tightly. The Library indeed deserved its name and title.

"Formally known as Labyrinthos Bibliotheca Mystica de Gabardina, this library boasts collection on par with that of Vatican Library's. This is the Holy Grail of Witenagemot, it holds countless rare books such as over fifty volumes of _Ab urbe condita libri_ or Archimedes' _On Sphere-Making_."

Rare didn't even begin to describe those books. Archimedes' _On Sphere-Making_ was said to have been buried in the middle of nowhere or was among the book burned when the Library of Alexandria was burned. And don't get me started on _Ab urbe condita libri_. To the public, there were only thirty five volumes of _Ab urbe condita libri_ found. And each one of those, had influenced the Renaissance, the basis for all we know about Ancient Rome, and – probably just to spit on our faces – was damn brilliant.

Thanks to the fact that I had studied quite a bit about folklores and cultures with Canaria – she would give me homework/objective to research/do in whatever country I were going next – I was feeling quite… _'happy'_ you can say, about finding such a Holy Grail.

Still, I wonder why there aren't anyone here, seems like a fine waste honestly. And I started to feel quite… disturbed by how they were able to create such a library when the Witenagemot was only founded around two centuries ago.

"Ah, that was because I, as the White Princess and the Highest Witch on Heaven, has reserved this library for today."

That's quite the title she had. She seems to be respected enough to be granted reservation of this kind of library.

"As for the second question, this library was found around in the early ages of Witenagemot. In fact, originally Witenagemot's founding purpose was to protect this library from the Campione Sasha Dejanstahl Voban and to decipher the contents of the books and it just progressed from there into becoming a neutral organization to deal with Campione-related problems and becoming a neutral mutual aid society as it is now."

That Sasha would probably burn this kinds of libraries just because he wondered how the Romans felt when they burned Library of Alexandria. She agreed with my comment.

"The original name of this library when it was founded was Magic Library of Veil. This library was originally quite spacious but as there were more and more additions, it became as cramped as it is now. That was probably why it was named Gabardine now."

It probably came as a joke first but someone took it seriously and it became an official name somehow.

"With the help of magic and a wide cooperation network, many valuable books were found and added into this library. This library was one of the reason why Witenagemot has the most information out of all magic organizations and why many people really want to join us. It was quite unfortunate that this library cannot be opened for the publics as there would be questions on how we managed to get the books."

Now this is what I call good usage of magic. Really, with magic there are a lot of good things that you could have done. It's a good thing that this world's magicians actually thought of retrieving the books of the past, unlike in many stories were they were all people who didn't seems to care about making useful discoveries.

It was quite unfortunate that it could not be opened for public though.

"Anyway, what did we came here for?"

I asked, trying not to think about all the valuables book anymore, as it would definitely get the visit here off-tracked from the original purpose.

"Please follow me."

I followed her down the left long stairs. Then, we went to the right and into the front of shelves placed in the middle of the sets of long stairs. Wait, could this be…

"A secret room?"

"Indeed, this is the secret and restriction section that could only be entered by a few of the higher ranked members of Witenagemot such as the Diogenes Club, though even then, most would need to do go through a long process to gain a permission to enter it."

"So what's inside it?"

"It is pretty much a storage room holding many dangerous and valuable treasures. Since that kleptomaniac Black Prince could simply just steal our items at any times, we decided that it would be better to just put them all in one place very close to us and very regularly catalogues all of them."

That way, in the event that anything was stolen at least they would know what the stolen items are.

"I, am the White Princess who is the highest ranked witch in the heavens. In my name, be opened o secret chamber."

The shelves was then pushed inwards before sliding to open a path with a smooth noise.

We then went inside and descended the spiral ladder within.

**~La Ferrum Milliariusa Formare~**

**[Secret Chamber of Gabardine Library]**

The chamber was, while naturally smaller than the library upstairs, very much spacious and less cramped as the labyrinth archive.

"This place holds many treasures. Even though you are not officially the Campione of Witenagemot yet, I considered that you should be aware of its existence and protect it if possible."

"Don't worry, I will at least guard this place. It does has some really priceless treasures after all."

"Mhm. Now Mr. Izayoi, I would like to give you a tour of this place, but I have to report about your decisions and ideas to the Elders and the Diogenes Club too. If you are done exploring this place, you can reopen the passageway again by simply commanding it to be opened as I have given you the privilege of unlimited access. It might take me four hours to return depending on how the talk proceeds."

After saying that, she turned around back to entrance of the chamber but turned around one last time.

"Ah, yes! Please do not take anything out of this place or opening the special containers as they might react to you."

She then resumed walking out. After that, I started to explore this place.

It really had many treasures, I really could feel that some were dangerous and others was obviously valuables.

It was half an hour later that one item took my interest for unknown reasons. I ignored Alice's warning and took it out.

I pulled out a sword out of the piles of items. It was rusted and doesn't seems to be of any use but I was for some reason drawn to it.

*SHING*

Just when I had put it in my hands, it shone. All of the rusts were gone in an instant and there was only a shining and pristine flamberge.

'This sword has awakened from its brief slumber to once again fulfill the purpose of being wield by a worthy master in their quest. This sword has ascertained that you possess the qualities required of becoming the master of this sword.'

I was quite surprised by the sudden metallic (and oddly, somewhat robotic) voice that I heard from the sword.

A talking sword, eh? Now that's cool. And it seems that it has chosen me to be its wielder too.

I then asked it a question.

"A talking sword… can you tell me some of your history and origins?"

I asked the sword that question because talking swords usually held some important history and backstory that would be really helpful for the wielder.

'This sword was the original sword made by the God of Smith, Velentr.'

"Velentr? Ah, you mean Wayland the Smith. Wait, the original sword?"

'Indeed. This sword is the true origin of all the swords said to have made by Velentr.'

"Ho, so then, what kind of power do you have?"

Other that being sentient of course.

'I was designed to be anything my owner wishes me to be. The name and the purpose given to me shall be my power and ability.'

"I see… can you give me some examples? I'd like to take some reference before deciding your next name and purpose."

'Before this sword tells you, do note that the greater the ability is, the higher the upkeep will be for the wielder. At worst it might kill you. However, that is unlikely as you are a Campione with a large reserve of magic. Regardless, it could still burden you heavily.'

"And I was going to make an all-slaying sword… that cannot be helped I guess."

Not that I would actually make it something like that. Where would the fun be if it's like that?

'It is good that you understands. Among the people who have wielded this sword was Charlemagne. He gave me four names and four different purposes, thus splitting me into four swords. He would have died had he did not get his Knights to bear the upkeep of the other three swords.'

'This sword was named by Sigurd as Gram, and the purpose was to slay dragons which were very strong back then. Thus, this sword had the power of converting his wrath into power for him and was able to cut dragons like clothes.'

'And there was also this sword's recent wielder, the Campione Aisha who had—'

"Whoa, whoa, wait, _that_ Aisha who went into hiding wielded you?"

'Indeed she had. This sword was bequeathed by her to the current Saint Raffaelo before she passed me into the hands of an organization for safe keeping when two young girls nearly found this sword in the place where this sword was enshrined along with two other swords.'

_'I guess we are in luck.'_ Yeah. Finding a magic sword once held by the Campione that went into hiding two hundred years ago was extremely lucky.

"So, what did she named you? No, from the beginning, is it fine for you to tell me all of these things?"

'My previous master had not ordered it to be kept secret and this sword was designed to be completely loyal to my current master.'

That's too robot like…

'This sword was named the Time-Eater with the purpose of slashing through the fabrics of time itself. With that, she used this sword to kill Heretic Aion and to be able to attack when time was stopped from the Authority she usurped. She also used the same Authority to stop her aging.'

When it said that, I was suddenly less enthused with the whole searching for Aisha business.

She probably needed this sword to even move while battling Aion the eternal time but later used it to slash enemy during time-stops since if time stopped, no energy could have flown thus she couldn't attack during that time without this sword.

"That's, er… is there any other abilities of her I needed to know?"

'In addition to time stopping ability, she had the ability to create holes to another world, including into that of the Astral Plane and the past. There was also the Authority to control seasons which could also heal her. For battle Authority she had gained the [Ten Supreme Incarnations] from Vishnu whom she said was the first God she slain and also an armor of invincibility from—'

"Stop! I… I don't think I could sleep well if you tell me the whole story. I would like to worry about it later, please."

'Very well. Then, shall you give this sword a name and a purpose now?'

…do you have any suggestion, Prometheus? _'Well… try to balance between the upkeep cost and the functionality while aiming for practicality. It should be you who name it as the master, however'_

So I have to think about it myself huh?

…

After five minutes of thinking, I have decided what to name it.

"Your name will be [The Blade with One Thousand Forms] and your purpose will be 'To accompany and witness my journey'."

In the end I took a different route than the other wielders. They have all wanted a strong power from it, what I want was simply so that it can change forms, thus maximizing its functionality.

The purpose however, was something I decided because I want to be different than the previous wielders. I don't like the feeling of treating it as a mere weapon. I'd rather like to treat it as a partner like I am with Prometheus here.

Even if it _is_ a weapon, it felt wrong to treat it as a mere object. I would rather treat it as an equal or an ally.

'Interesting… you are a unique person among all who have possessed this sword. You might be the master this sword has been waiting for.'

"Anyway, could you tell me where Aisha is hiding?"

Blade told me where she was hiding and I was quite surprised to find that it was not that far from here.

_'By hiding at the place anyone would not think of looking, no one managed to find her.'_

Yeah, that's clever. Now then, I think we should go outside before…

"MR. I-ZA-YO-I."

_'Eh, too late.' _Behind me, there was already Alice with a rather disturbing smile.

"I thought I told you _not_ to take anything out, hm?"

Better act casually.

"Yo, Alice. I thought you said you might take up to three to four hours?"

"Yes, however thanks to the combination of your message to the Elders and the sudden and very noticeable flare of divine power, things proceeded _much_ faster."

"Yes… much faster indeed."

"Now then, do you have _anything_ you should tell me?"

This is bad… gotta reverse the situation fast.

"Well, alright, I have one. Why the hell did the sword of a previous Campione in this place?"

I showed Blade to her.

"Hm? If I were not wrong, was that not the sword Saint Raffaelo gave me? She said that a bunch of kids almost stumbled upon it so she gave it to the Witenagemot for to be kept safely."

"That's not the problem. This sword, is a sentient sword once held by Aisha, you know?"

Three… two… one… now.

"E-eeeeeeehh?! I, I have never know about that! It was just a rusty sword with a little divine power within it when she gave it to me!"

"Ho, so the great, _Highest Witch in Heaven_ never realized about it? Some reliability that was."

"As I said, I only felt some small, very small divine powers within it! It was even smaller than her two sword Il Maestro and Cuore di Leone!"

She retorted rather angrily. It was quite embarrassing for the Highest Witch in Heaven never realized she had a great treasure right under her nose.

Not that it was not understandable anyway.

"Well, anyway from talking with this sword, I've found out about where Aisha is hiding. It was surprisingly close."

I told her where she's hiding. She gaped and palmed her face for never finding out about it despite it's being so close.

"To think that she was hiding there… and we never found her…"

She lamented before shaking her head to restore her mind.

"A-anyway Mr. Izayoi, are your business here concluded yet?"

Hm… now that I think about it, there is something that I should do…

"Pretty much done around here but there's something I'd like to research about upstairs."

"Is that so? Then let us get out of here. Staying here would only make me do more self-deprecations."

With that, we went upstairs. I then started on doing the assignment given by Prometheus: Research about his origins.

**~Speculations of Past Uncertainties~**

**[Great Library Gabardine, (16:32)]**

I was in one of the tables in the library. While the shelves area was cramped, they do properly liberate some areas to put tables for readings.

*TICK**TOCK**TICK**

I looked at the clock, it showed 16:32. I stretched by back as I finished writing. I had been in the great library for quite some times. The reason was because I was researching the root of Prometheus' myth.

It was quite complex in nature. Are all Titan class Gods have this level of confusing myth?

_'Titan _race_? No. Titan _class_? Yes. In Heretic God classification made by those humans, Titan class refers to deities of primordial level. Naturally, they have some long history.'_

Then I do not look forward to meeting the God of the Bear Cult. _'Yes. Even I do not want to mess with him as he was one of the oldest worships.'_

In any case, I have managed to compile all that I have found in this library for the origins of Prometheus. I finally finished writing them on a paper. I then re-read the whole thing again.

In summary, he first came from the worship of fire dating from the prehistoric times though the first religion that actually first adopted was Zoroastrianism in around 2000 years Before Common Era.

It was Prometheus who was the divine [Fire] because he stole it from the Gods and gave it to mankind, thus you can say that he was the God of Fire in general and not of a specific aspect of it like Hestia and Vulcan's case.

For those two, I think they might actually be the Priest and Priestess who brought Fire Worship into Greek in the first place, but since reverence of Prometheus was small due to 'fear of the wrath of Zeus', they might show it through them and eventually mutated their story into becoming an actual God combined with elements from some other myths.

Oh, and the same reason was probably why works before _Prometheus Bound_ shows him as an evil deity.

One thing that was interesting was him getting his livers regenerated during his punishment. See, [Fire] was said to be healing and purifying. Probably because it protects people from freezing to death.

But then, Judeo-Christianity came. Just like many other Gods, he was condemned as an evil deity and got turned into Lucifer who is equated with Satan.

Lucifer and Satan was pretty much an amalgamation of a lot of symbols of powers and reverence, with the story of Prometheus being twisted into that of an antagonist.

Older works that said Prometheus was evil due to creating satisfaction in humanity was similar with what the [Serpent] did in the Garden of Eden.

The story of Lucifer and Satan themselves are pretty much diluted with elements of other myths, but in the end, the name of Lucifer (Light-Bringer) can be connected with Prometheus title as the Fire-Bringer.

Finally, I put down the paper before stretching my back again. It took me a few hours to put them all together and it's mostly just conjectures.

Prometheus knew of what kinds of legend makes him up but unfortunately he didn't knew how exactly it came to be like that so I investigated it, though they're not certain. Even so, I felt quite confident that most of them are correct.

That said, there was a more pressing and disturbing issue however…

It was something that Prometheus had said when I had started researching his history:

_'I don't remember anything about the past, the Age of Free Gods when Gods still roamed free in the Earth was.'_

There. That's just too fishy. The fact that Blade said that it was created quite a while after the Common Era and mostly treated as a mere weapon didn't help.

But really, how do you not remembering about the Age of Free Gods but knowing a lot of things of the past and even the Campione ritual and the fact that you had helped in its creation?

_'I remember things pertaining to my own life, but not about how the past was. No… the memory loss was only to things related to how it was before the Age of Free Gods, the age when Gods freely manifests on the human world and absorbs or reject their myths without any consequences or difficulties, ended.'_

Then that means, something erased that knowledge. How about Pandora? _'She forgot too but I got the feelings that she was hiding something.'_

Is that so? Hm… I do have a theory though. _'And that is?'_ That the Age didn't exactly change and it was the humans and the Gods that changed. _'…explain.'_

Gods did roam free a long time ago, right? _'That is true.'_ Think about it, what was different between the past and the present? _'…I see! The humans!'_ That's right.

Before they had been thinking that Gods exists but now, only a few Gods are thought to actually exist. Not only that – thanks to the advance of knowledge and technology – many people are somewhat skeptic towards the existence of Gods now.

Japan had been mostly Atheist. According to surveys, very few people in Japan profess religion membership. More than half of them don't even believe in God and Buddha. However, they still do the religion traditions so they still at least believe in a higher power or maybe they simply just want convenience. They aren't giving anything to the Gods as much as they simply wants their desires to be fulfilled.

Actually, Japan's somewhat better since they are both technical Atheist and Polytheist that still follows the traditions and faith. The problem would be with other religions that are often used as mere tools by the ruling classes.

Now, it isn't good to generalize things. But under the assumption that deep down this is the same for all nations in the world… _'Few actually believe in God. No… they desire a God, one that would assist them in their lives.'_ Maybe for some, but I really don't think that it applies for everyone. Do take note of the point, however.

Now then, there is another thing that interests me: the Divine Beasts.

Divine Beasts, you can say that they are creation of humans' imaginations. They are the things humanities feared and awed for… the same things apply to the Gods, but these are more towards imagination of the unknown rather than worship of a concept's personification or a legendary person.

In recent years however, no one believe on them anymore. But they _did_ exist, right? _'Right. They exists even now, but just like Gods, only few were left.'_ …Say, Prometheus, have you read about the current literatures much? _'Not much admittedly but I have a general knowledge of it.'_

The things written in it… it shows that humans now are opposite of how they were back then. Back then, the unknown truly existed, had roamed free, and was believed though they were not desired, hated, and can be seen as an enemy of mankind. People known for associating with the supernatural are usually cast off from their village while it was obvious that the past Gods were a source of humankind's suffering.

Truth or not, recorded or not, that was my opinion on it. But didn't _they_ come into existence because of us in the first place?

People back then believed in superstitions and explained everything through it. The unknown would always be feared and awed. The Black Death was feared and yet awed as God's retribution towards mankind. The same applies to the HIV/AIDS in the present. But if there is one thing that differentiate the two, it would be that Black Death was shrouded in superstition while we knew exactly how HIV/AIDS works. Superstition was vanquished by the blades of science and technology.

And so, the creatures and entities of the past, of superstition 'Does not exist anymore'. But if the current literatures are any indication… then that means… people _want_ them to exist. _'…what?'_

Fantasy genre, it is one of the most popular kind of literature out there, and even the ones that aren't in that genre still shows fascination towards the unknown. People now knows that those things 'Do not exists' but they desire it to exist. They desire the unknown to be their enemy once more because of boredom and things.

And those Divine Beast, mostly lacking any actual 'bodies' that was legends, vanished from the world as there were no more superstition, fear, and reverence to them anymore. The Gods however, was disgusted by humanity. In the _Timaeus-Critias_, it was said that back then human and Gods has a good relationship with each other.

Gods would guide mankind with persuasions rather than with force in a similar way shepherds would guide lambs. In exchange, people would revere them, pursue all virtues, live in moderation, and excel in their works. But they eventually became corrupt. For the Atlanteans, they were chastised by Zeus though but eventually waged wars against the then "perfect" Athens and vanished "in a single day and night of misfortune".

Just like that, humans made Gods felt disgusted and decided to leave humanity alone for many have become corrupt in that they seek Gods as a mere convenience. The Abrahamic religions didn't help too as most people still believing in the existence of divine entity mostly adopt those religions. And so that was why, seeing no reason to appear, the Gods doesn't manifest themselves on Earth anymore.

Yes, there weren't any changes in the world except for the humans. The categories of Heretic and Proper were always there to begin with. It just that without human's worship anymore, they are restricted towards either category which was based on legends and not on worship. With people's worship they were always on the border of Heretic and Proper and is able to switch to any aspects thanks to the worships.

How about that?

_'…it does give some answers. I however, thinks that the concept of Heretic and Proper Gods came from the Disaster from the Box that Pandora opened. Maybe you're right that it was already there to begin with and I simply didn't realize about it thanks to the worships. But as it happens, my theory has some merits too.'_

Hoo? Do explain what it is.

_'Pandora opened the Box holding Disaster and Hope. The Campione system was born from the Hope, to that I can testify as I was one of the people who created the system. While I don't really know about the Disaster, I think that it was the opposite of Hope which bears the Campione system within it. Ah yes, let me get this straight: While we need to create a formula for it, the Hope bears the concept of God-Slaying Humans from the very beginning. Had we didn't put it in the vessel that is the Campione system, I am sure that it would still do the same job of making God-Slaying a possibility for human.'_

I see. So naturally, Disaster has Heretic Gods within it and was the thing that forced deity to disappear? _'Something like that. Do note that my memories from that time was not perfect as my body was in an extreme stress thanks to the process of creating the Campione system – we are pretty much planting a giant curse on all Gods – and so I don't really remember much about the event.'_

…then couldn't the fact that you don't have memories of how it was during the Age of Free Gods a mere amnesia? _'Maybe… if it was just me. I have confirmed it with Melqart, Pandora, and many other Gods. While as I said, Pandora was hiding something, I really doubt a mass amnesia of such a specific subject to be just a coincidence.'_

Couldn't it just be the inability to retain memories between each manifestation? _'Pandora has never once died. In the Campione system, she was its administrator and maintainer, before I lost consciousness I saw that she was fine.'_ So… is my theory wrong? _'That's complicated.'_

_'On one hand, it could be just a side-effect of the Disaster affecting our memories and that there really wasn't much changes in the Gods other than those that worshipped them. All I can confirm about the Disaster was that it does indeed created a disaster. Other than that, it's open for speculation. I do can see the points of your theory however.' _I see, so neither of our theories are proven true or false, huh?

Still, I honestly think that this library would really help us in answering our questions. _'While I do agree in that, what is your reason for it? My reason for thinking about it was because of the countless records of the past in here.'_ Same with me. Guess great mind thinks alike, huh?

I thought of it because well, Gods came from the Domain of Immortality where Gods and Heroes of Legends resides was similar to the eternal world of Forms in Plato's dialogues. Especially is description in the _Metaphor of the Sun_ that is, "domain where truth and reality shine resplendent".

_'That is a valid reason, it might actually be the same with the Domain of Immortality. As for me, it was because records of the past are a giant clue of how the past was. Even if someone were to wipe the history, I am quite sure that there should be some information subtly placed within the words. And they might actually still be there in pristine and untouched condition.'_

Yeah… that might be though it'll involve a loooot of readings. Sigh, well let's just clear our head for now.

I stood up from the chair and walked around the library. True to its name, the shelves here are somewhat close and cramped, creating the impression of a labyrinth.

I kept on walking until I saw a book that piqued my interest. Never thought they'd have it in here.

Taking it, I returned to my seat and started to read the book.

**~Secret of the Universe~**

…

… …

… … …

Now this is awesome. _'Indeed, to think that humanity has advanced so far… Truly brilliant.'_ Of course, it's Homunculus after all. It's naturally magnificent, see how it's-

*BLAM*

I was brought out of my… focus, due to the table being slammed. I lifted my head and saw that it was Alice, she had slammed piles of a few book to the table, probably on purpose. She had a weird look on her face. What is it? You want to complain? I'm the one that have the right to complain!

I stood up, closed the book but still held it with my left hand. I clenched my right hand while pointing at her with the left hand holding the book, accusing her of her crime.

**_"You… we were in the middle of our GOOD PRIVATE PERSONAL HAPPY TIME!"_**

Both of us said that from the deepest of our heart…

**_"And yet… you dare interrupt us like a parent with some boring chore?! HAVE YOU NO CONSCIENCE!?"_**

To our accusation, she simply shook her head and sighed.

"*sigh* Reading a porn magazine in bright daylight, and not only that, you forced me to keep using these weird magical short skirt… you really are a **big pervert**."

I merely scoffed at her statement. I then raised my left middle finger at her in what is probably the most charismatic middle finger ever done.

"I am NOT going deny that. Perversity is normality! That's my motto."

I then turned back. I used the [Darkness] Authority to dim the surrounding and the [Light] as a spotlight on myself.

"Not to mention, this is Homunculus, you merely do not understand the art and the beauty in it. His level in art is on par with the artists of old, and surpasses each and every one of them in his own field! He is like a god, incomparable to mere mortals!"

Dramatically turning around, I put my foot on the chair and pumped my right fist.

"And that skirt, it is meant to both show and hide! It is the true art. True art requires your imagination for the unknown, it demands you to seek the mysterious."

Truly, such was the nature of true arts. There were countless examples, such as the mysterious Mona Lisa that gave out a beautiful mystique, the mystique that Venus De Milo gave out with her missing arms, the mystique of the sight underneath a girl's skirt! These mysterious things has an overwhelming desire to explore the heart, at the same time the bitterness of not taking a closer look! This bitterness will raise the sublimation in your heart!

"And thus, the best art in this entire world is hidden, AT THE UNIVERSE WITHIN YOURSELF!"

_'The universe within yourself, you say?!'_

Indeed, the same applies to a maiden's skirt. If you can see all of it, then there is only the vulgarities of the panties left, however, if you can't see a thing then it is art!

_'It's art if I cannot see it?!'_

Correct. O my friend, I too had once thought that you had to see everything, that subtlety is outdated. However, a kindred soul woke me up with her wisdom and I have been enlightened ever since. A shame that you cannot meet that person. But even so, let us confirm this truth of the universe and witness the miracles as we journey together, Prometheus…

_'Sakamaki Izayoi…'_

Yes, my friend?

_'Indeed, let us confirm and witness it together!'_

Hm! I know you would understand!

…

"…What an idiot, no, idiots."

'Your idiocies surpass most of the things this sword have seen. That is truly an achievement.'

Alice merely said, backing off as if the supposed idiocy would be contagious, while Blade spoke as monotonous as ever as it mocked us. Something as small as that however, will not dissuade us from our journey.

"Hmph, you simply don't understand about it. You have not yet reached enlightenment and awakening."

Scoffing at her, I then sit down again.

**~King of the End~**

"So, what are you doing, here? It's not just to disturb us, isn't it?"

"Of course not. Mr. Izayoi is not the only that have something to investigate on."

"Oh? Then you have something to investigate too?"

"Yes. But before that I have to ask you something."

I have a clue of what it was. I'm quite sure that she was quite unnerved by the issue.

"Why? I am quite sure that you already know that I have an agenda for accepting you as the Campione of Witenagemot, so why did you…?"

I already figured it out since the moment she looked surprised when I said to continue the negotiation. She had the eye of an opportunist at that time.

Witenagemot will not benefit much from gaining a Campione. The organization was a neutral organization meant to deal with problems made by Campiones, gaining a Campione would instead be counter-productive since it'll make other organization suspicious and doubtful of them. That would have made the wide network and support for Witenagemot, the cornerstone and key in their operations, collapse.

Unless of course, someone, a sneaky fox could spin a very believable cover story, one that paints the Campione as a trustable and peaceful fellow who tries avoids trouble and will not take advantage of the organization's power. Then, most of the other magical organizations would be willing to turn a blind eye to what Witenagemot did in exchange for some… 'extra tips' – preferably done behind the scenes – that they undoubtedly managed to gain by using the power and authority gained from having a Campione.

Yes, Alice had planned to use the extra power this organization would gain from having a Campione, thus by proxy, meant that she planned to use me, the Campione, as a tool to achieve a certain goal.

And yet I did not do anything against it, not even questioning or confronting her. Which was the thing that disturbed her to no end.

"Why did I simply just do nothing and letting it go? Well I don't have any reason to get angry or something. For one, I don't feel that it's a threat to me. Second, it's a deal so both party should reap benefits. And lastly… you're not the only one evaluating who you were speaking with. I evaluated you too, and I felt that I can trust you. That whatever you're planning it's not something bad."

She widened her eyes at my statement. Trusting someone who had tried to use you… it is quite an incomprehensible thing. But trust is a weird and fickle thing. Although…

"Th-that was quite the dirty move, Mr. Izayoi… to say something like that…"

Yeah, it truly was a cheap and dirty trick courtesy of this clever and cunning Sakamaki Izayoi.

"Oh? What are you saying? I am just an idiot with a muscle for a brain who could never think of anything devious. Nope, not at all."

At my comment, she seems to felt that it was funny and tried to hold her laugh but failed quite miserably.

"Mhfufufu, you? An idiot? Surely you jest Mr. Izayoi!"

I did killed a trickster archetype God, made sense that I could be a jester.

"Hu, well in any case, thank you for trusting in me, Mr. Izayoi. I felt… honored since you do not seems to be one who gives people trusts so easily."

She's correct. I don't. But I _do_ trust my instinct and that instinct said that she was somewhat trustable.

"Sure, if you say so. Though I am interested in knowing what that agenda is."

She was silent at that. She looked around and then casted a magic. It seems to be a barrier magic to make sure that no one hears our conversation despite the library being reserved for us (technically just her). I realized that this issue was a confidential one.

"Very well, I shall tell you. My main objectives are three things: The Holy Grail, Guinevere who holds it, and the King of the End."

_'Oh man, not that guy again.'_ You know him? _'Any God that have stayed in this world for a while should know him.'_

"Huh. Even Morgenstein know who that King is. Can you explain to me in detail?"

Coughing, she then explained to me of all the information she had accumulated through years of investigations.

First of all, the Holy Grail in truth was an item made by the Goddess Guinevere, or rather, Gwenhyfwar out of her life.

It holds various magical abilities including but not limited to creating Fake Gods and absorbing essence of Earth. Just its overflowing power was already equal to that of several dozens of Campiones.

Holy Grail was also the item that was sought by the Black Prince Edward. _'Are you truly incapable of remembering his name?'_ Sorry, one Black Prince limit. At least I didn't go as far as calling him Prosecutor Edgeworth no matter how greatly they resemble each other.

Guinevere was a Queen among Divine Ancestors. Since I said I already knew about Divine Ancestors, the subject was explained quite quickly.

Guinevere, Alice said that the White Enchantress Gwenhwyfar was once a Mother Earth Goddess. She had some sorts of relationship with her protector knight, the Lancea God, Lancelot, who even until now both Alice and Alec (whom she admitted begrudgingly to be somewhat clever from time to time) had never understood which God was his root. The fact that he manifested hundreds of years ago did not help.

And the King of the End, the King Who Manifests at the End of an Era, Artus. He was a truly enigmatic God. He would appear to wipe out God-Slayers once there were too many of them.

He was not King Arthur. Arthur was actually a creation of Guinevere, meant originally to be a body for summoning Artus but became an independent God sometimes during the period of her first and second incarnation in this world, most likely due to many influences ranging from the Thomas Malory's _Le Morte d'Arthur_, the Templar's additions, and the _Carolingian Cycle_.

Arthur himself was actually strong enough that they even chose to seal him when he was summoned. It was the reason why Alice's body became bed-ridden.

As for Artus, his true identity was unknown. He does have an Excalibur and was strong enough to kill Campiones many times even though most of the times Heretic Gods who fights Campiones was defeated instead. It was actually weird that he had not appeared in this Era considering how many Campiones there are. Eight apparently was too big number of Campiones.

In any case, his existence was a secret to all except some people. The reason was that if it was spread carelessly, it might be heard by a reckless Campione who would then try to find and wake him up. If he does, it would be one hell of a disaster as even Heretic Arthur was already strong enough thus the ensuing battle, and possibly Campione-Genocide, would surely ravage the world.

When she ended her explanation, I have drawn some interesting ideas.

"Well, let's see… for the parts that was unknown, how about seeing them through a different perspective?"

She was puzzled at my suggestion. I then explain what I meant.

"See, from what I've seen, it seems that legends tend to come from an older legend. What if the Arthur legend made by Guinevere was the same? Wouldn't it makes sense if Guinevere would base some of it from actual events they've done, which might have been recorded in older legends? Even if it was different now, there should be remains of the original tales there."

Now she's interested.

"Exclude the parts influenced by the Templars and the _Matter of France_, then compare with older legends. For example, the Knight of the Round Table's Quest for the Holy Grail has some similar prototypes in older legends like maybe, the Argonauts' Quest for the Golden Fleece or Xuanzang's _Journey to the West_ to retrieve the sutra. For Lancelot, let's see…"

What do you know of him, Prometheus? _'Not much admittedly. I was exploring the New World at that time so I didn't know how his myth originally was. I do remember hearing that Guinevere had asked a few Gods and Goddesses she knew to join Artus. The Lancea God was most likely a God of [Steel] category among that group of Gods she recruited.'_

My brain started to work on the information given by him.

"Lancelot, was of [Steel] category and he has a close relationship with Guinevere, right?"

She nodded her head in confirmation.

"So then just find what older Gods have ties with her, the religion that worships her, and the civilization that adopted the religion. From how you and Morgenstein described it, they seems to be a really old friend so the chance that they came from the same age is high. Hm… well if that is so, then we have to extend the criteria to Goddesses too since if they actually came from the same age, Lancelot might be a Goddess in truth since at that age the adopted religion was mainly the Matriarchal Religions."

Despite the somewhat low chance, she nodded acknowledging the possibilities. _'True, you must be open to all possibilities and, as how human puts it in the present, think out of the box.'_

Yes, the inane might actually be the correct one after all. I mean, what are the chance of the Avatar of the Black Death plague being a girl? What part of it justifies it? None! My time in Little Garden has taught me to be open minded so that I can find the truth.

"Those points… do have some merits to them. I may be not sure about the Lancelot one as he was of [Steel], but as he has ties to horse riding and equestrianism do dates back to prehistoric age, it might be true."

Isn't it? At least we now have a search criteria, that way it drops from being impossible to solve to being harder than hard.

"Well then Mr. Izayoi, please excuse me for a while. I am going to find some books pertaining to those subjects. Ah! There is no need to help me really. I would like to get used to my body again so I would like to try to do it myself."

She added quickly after seemingly sensing my worry for her. She did had a sickly body after all. Well, if she says so.

After that, she went deep into the cramped sea of bookshelves. She seemed to have remembered the sections by heart from the way she moves.

I on the other hand started to think. The prospect of battling a really strong enemy was quite interesting. However, I decided against it since I already have my hands full with a lot of things.

Dealing with Athena and the Starless Night prophecy.

Finding Aisha, who is a totally broken and unbalanced monster.

Figuring out the System of the World: the Heretic God system, the Magic system, the Campione system in particular.

Investigating the incoming Catastrophe that was possibly an intercontinental-wide one.

Gathering (read: Fighting + Defeating Them = Friendship) the Campiones and all possible allies.

And then there was this Artus, Guinevere, Lancelot, Holy Grail mystery.

Too many things to do. I just have no time anymore. Perhaps if I had found out about it earlier I might have been interested but for now, I just don't have the luxury of being able to do it with so many items in the to-do list.

I sighed at that. Really, a lot have happened in the week I returned here. Yes it was fun, but I am somewhat upset that I didn't find out about this much earlier. Not to mention that it was quite tiring too.

Even if I have the body of a Campione, I still a human deep inside, more specifically in the brain. I have a limited stamina too.

My mind started to drift as I considered the future. It will be full of ordeals, challenges, and conflicts.

"Mr. Izayoi?"

I barely heard Alice calling me before I started to lose my consciousness.

"Ufu, sleep well, Crown Prince. You deserve it after…"

I fell into a deep sleep without hearing the rest of the sentence. Interestingly, I felt really comfortable sleeping here for some reason. Was it this pillow I felt on my head after I fell?

* * *

**Chapter 00C – As Ten Thousand Thunders**

**Prologue Arc - To the Beginning**

**End.**

* * *

**Afterword:**

Izayoi channeled Jack Rakan for the win! And the perverted Izayoi has returned too. I don't know if I overdid it or not but really, I'm not good with action scenes and perverted scenes. Anyway, if you have problems with how I handled Alec, try opening the next chapter for my reasons. On another note, does anyone knows what the chapter's title refers to? And Izayoi's perverted moment is a reference to 'Danbooru Post 993870'.

System of the World. It's a shame that the Campione! Series doesn't really do a lot of world-building. Well, in their defense, they don't have a God willing to be interviewed freely and have a protagonist who want to be as far away as possible from the magic world.

Though I do notice the fact that no one ever talks about the times before the Campione system (if I am not mistaken anyway). In any case, it was interesting to examine the Campione!Universe based on many researches, references, and myths. They've got some nice basis I have to admit. Having to use actual knowledge, philosophies, and logics for the System of the World while still abiding by the rules is really hard but actually fun.

As for Blade, it's something I thought of. Originally I just wanted to give him a talking sword like Murakumo (originally it was going to be Nothung). But it develops rapidly into a way to bring Aisha out much faster. The library was my creation for the future as the meeting place for the Campione-Alliance.

For Aisha, for the sake of this fanfiction, I am taking Kadi's (the supervisor for the BT translation) statement in the animesuki forum that Aisha was 1,800 years old to be true. It's probably false since she actually can't control her ability and warps around all the times (pun intended). I'm pretty much building her to be some sort of a Yukari Yakumo character while Izayoi 'only' Reimu-level in comparison.

There's a choice up there, had Izayoi chose to ask, it would've led to Alice Route and he won't fight Alec (so no extra EXP for Alec). I do have a theoretical Alice Route scenario but I know I won't make it. Instead, I gave a little teasing for them. Just like the teasing of Izayoi x Asuka and Izayoi x Yō in the anime. Which doesn't actually mean anything romantic really. On another note, I'm posting the full version of Prometheus development into Lucifer and Satan in the thread. If you think I should put it in the actual story, I'll put it in the interlude.

Now then, do please review or maybe drop by in the forum. There have been a lot of Campione crossover ideas over there after all. Lastly, I have also put a little 'poll' on my profile, do please spare your time to answer it.

* * *

**First Published:** June 16th, 2013

**Last Edited:** July 26th, 2013


	4. Epilogue 00

**Foreword:**

Very late for a chapter of this short length but I am mostly busy thanks to getting sick, wandering through many sites, reading many stuffs, new anime season, finally watching Kotonoha no Niwa, writing the plan for this story, and helping quite a number of other Authors. Oh, and posting a _really_ extensive Guide for writing a Story (and OC and Characterizations too) compiled from all the stuffs I read recently. For those who is or wishes to write a story, try checking it out (the link's on my Profile). It should help.

Ah, yes, Bakapervert I do admit that you've got a point but really, the main reason why it was a curb-stomp battle was because Izayoi managed to steal Black Lightning. From what I read, its avatar form can be interpreted as either actually reaching lightning speed or not I chose to that it is the oft-cited 150 km/s. Assume that the labyrinth was, say, 100 kilometers. Without any deterrent, Izayoi could reach it in a second thanks to Black Lightning (I swear, that things a total hax on his hand). The deterrent in the form of buildings, Wandering Avarice, and Faceless Queen could be solved with a few punches, which in a second he could theoretically throw around 300 times if the punch traveled the distance of 0.5m each times. From that, I estimated that it would only take about 1-3 minutes at top. I actually looked at a clock as I try to consider it and I saw that, well, I decided maybe around a minute or so.

The fight would have gone differently had Alec just knew more about him. In the end, between his lack of offensive Authority (a thing he admitted in canon, mind you), Izayoi getting Black Lightning, and Alec fighting without a single information, let alone preparation, the end result was quite natural. Of course, next time they fight wouldn't go the same way (next chapter hints it). As for the curb-stomping and Campione being 'pathetic' shouldn't exist... there's Volume 4 and Episode 8? Well, technically it happened very early in Volume 1 where Athena 'defeated' Godou without him giving any meaningful resistance, permanently if it wasn't for the Ram. Same with Alec, had he didn't be that 'pathetic' in his performance, the result would be much worse for him.

So yeah, I am armed with both canon and basic maths as the basis for the fight's result.

For the others, I do already have plans for the story. As shown by the previous chapter, the plot already has a certain direction. The character interaction can be put in-between the character conflicts/developments I want to make. That's why, please be a little patient with the story. As for my writing technique, well, I'm still learning after all so it can't be helped.

Anyway, please remember that this chapter is an alternate PoV, some details that are important to one and what one character thinks might be different from how the other sees it. Now then, let's start!

* * *

**Epilogue 00 – Impressions on Sakamaki Izayoi**

* * *

**Liliana Kranjkar—Caught in the Spider's Web**

"It seems that that flame God has gone into hiding, milord."

"Oh? Is that so? Well I suppose I have no choice but to take your word for it, huh, my _knight_, Kranjkar."

A Dead Servant of the man putted his hands on my shoulders. No, it would be more appropriate to call it bones of the hand as there was not a single flesh on it. He was among the less fortunate of the Dead Servants, having nothing but bones as the body.

"In any case, you, as my _knight_, should take better care of yourself. After all, you need to recover from your recent fight don't you?"

"Yes, milord."

"Truly, that brutish person… what was his name again? Ah, yes, Sakamaki Izayoi. He truly is a scum, is he not? To fight against you despite of how nice you were and even tried to persuade him. Then, he went to chase the flame God after defeating you. When I first heard it from you I was so genuinely… disappointed with you."

My body started sweat as I felt fear from his words. The Dead Servant behind me also tightened its grip on me, preventing me from escape even if I tried to.

Is this how it will end? I have tried to spin a believable tale. I admit that just looking from the novels I made, I am not that good of a storyteller. But I tried to get it as close to truth as much as possible and give arguments and reasons why I lost. The best way to trick someone is to trick them not with lies but with truth after all…

Ah… now I realized it, from another view point, strictly speaking I have failed and made some 'weak' excuses. Still, if I am to lie, surely Voban will know that I did and use it as an excuse to kill me. The Campione will not kill someone unless given reason to – he still have some standards albeit a rather twisted and meaningless one – though most of the time he would simply just makes one up on his own.

So, failure or lie? The choice are pretty much a lose-lose situation. However, in long term, failure is better. At most I am going to be killed here and now but if I don't, then in long-term I should be safe. Lie however, sure, I will be fine for now, but he could kill me at any moment because he already has the reason. What if he kills the moment I was almost free?

On a side note, yes, I am no longer thinking of him as my lord. I am still referring to him as a lord of course, but not think of him as one. I refuse to become the knight of such a despicable person. Not that it really matters if I die, however. But just when I thought of that…

"Hm… despite that failure of yours, I shall admit that you have a point in your excuse. I did saw how great the crater he created when he interrupted my and the flame God's battle. It is not a wonder that you lose…"

…then that means!

"However, you still failed. This time, I shall excuse you. Should you fail or become useless however…"

The Dead Servant gave my shoulders a shove before releasing its grips. The message was delivered: I will join the ranks of the Dead Servant should he thinks I failed or became useless.

"But I have faith in you, Kranjkar. You are going to be a great, true, and _perfect_ knight, aren't you? I shall hold you by that standard because I believe in you, my _knight_ Liliana Kranjkar."

"I thank you for your faith in this humble knight, my lord."

Though I said that in my mind I was thinking how much of an obvious lie his words were. Still, from the way he keep referring me as his knight… could he be?!

Did he heard about my conversation with Sakamaki Izayoi? But how?! And when?!

"In any case, Kranjkar, you should take better care of yourself. Just in case, I shall have you always accompanied by two of my Servants. Do not worry about some unknown person following you everywhere, I am using the more skeletal ones. As they are just skeletons, they are not a person, right? Of course, when you are going outside they will wear an illusion magic but their presence should still protect you."

What a twisted logic. This is just like the story where he took the name Voban from a dog owned by a noble, then after taking the noble's title as a Marquis, he asked that the dog be treated with same respect as him as he bears the same family name as him, thus he is a family member of him.

"As there might be other people like that Izayoi person, I also give you a stronger Servant to accompany you."

*SNAP*

The snap of his fingers echoed throughout the room and two skeletal Dead Servant entered the room.

…and I felt their frightening aura. They are strong, very strong even. It was somewhere near the level of the esteemed uncle of that person, Paolo Blandelli. However, they openly emitted their auras, making even I who has been around the Dead Servants for a long time and somewhat accustomed to them felt nervous, no, frightened.

"As you can see, they are pretty strong. Their auras will always be shown so as to frighten other people from thinking of attacking you, thus you will be safe.

…hm? Shouldn't you be thanking me for my kindness?"

"Y-Yes! I thank you for you kindness and consideration for myself, lord Voban!"

"Hm. Now then, you are dismissed. You may return to your room…"

I raised my body and turned back. I was taken aback by the Dead Servant right behind me but immediately forced myself to become calm again. An easily frightened knight; that could be enough to violate the standard of being a perfect knight.

As I exited through the door, I looked back at Voban one last time and saw that he was smirking with his eyes glowing. For the whole audience he had been looking outside of the window, but just when I looked at him, he slightly turned his head towards my direction. Yes, he was mocking and toying me, that much was obvious.

I then closed the door and walked the hallway to return to my room.

When I arrived, the two Dead Servants following me from behind took position guarding the door of my room. Entering the room, I immediately checked the balcony but I saw that there were nobody guarding it from below. I then returned back into the room.

Just as I thought, Voban used the Dead Servants so as to make sure I don't escape. At the same time, the balcony was meant to give me false hope of freedom. The frightening Dead Servants which auras I could still feel inside the room was meant to scare me. This whole situation… it was a mind torture meant to slowly break my mind.

If I were to break, that would be more than enough excuse for him to kill me.

I have to be a strong knight. I want to devote myself to this way of living.

And I cannot die yet. At the very least, I want to die serving a worthy lord.

That was why, I have no choice but to do it.

I took _it_ out and took it to the balcony of the room. And there, I set _it_ on fire.

It was my collections of written novels. I love it as much as I am embarrassed whenever that woman brought them up.

But… as the situation is… I have to throw away a part of myself: My woman part.

For now, it is unneeded. I cannot endure this torture if I do not turn my mind and resolve into steel. As a knight, I vow to overcome this ordeal, this test. This action symbolizes my resolves.

The burning of the book symbolizes how far I will go to succeed this trial, going as far as throwing my side as a woman.

The fact that I still kept my long hair symbolizes the fact that I _will_ succeed an able to become an 'innocent dreaming maiden' once again.

I do think that maybe it was not necessary, but the sight of the burned book filled me with a strong emotion. I did not know what it was, it might be anger, it might be willpower, or it might be hope. What I know is that it will be the strength that will help me through all this.

This is what I chose. Sakamaki Izayoi was the one who brought this change upon it.

But I do not blame him, nor do I regret it.

Even if it was hard, I want to go through it.

This desire, this dream, this wish… is not wrong. I want to be a knight. That is what I want, and I _will_ be a true knight. I will survive this torture and find a worthy lord I shall serve.

A call by Voban through one of the Dead Servant that came inside my room made me stood up in surprise. …it seems that that act I did didn't really change who I was. This might be bad as showing an emotion in front of the Balkan Devil is pretty much giving him clues on how to attack me. I have to always act and look calm.

In any case, I immediately followed the Dead Servant back to the old Campione's room. I kneeled and bowed my head before him. This is not a show of respect, in truth this was a way for me to hide my emotions.

I know very much that I have difficulties in controlling my emotions but this should lower the chance of the emotions I leaks unconsciously being spotted by him. Voban would be very entertained if I am to show my emotions, surprise, fear and such. Thus, he would most likely do some follow up so as to break my mind.

Yes. All of this mind torture was nothing but a little mind game for him. As he was unable to have fun by killing a God, he simply turned into trying to mentally break me instead. Whether I managed to endure or not, it would simply be entertaining for him to watch my struggle. Considering that by my estimation it would take years for me to be free from him; that would means a long time of amusement for him.

"Ah, Kranjkar, I have good news for you…"

I, I have a feeling that it is actually a bad news…

"I have just heard, that the flame God has been defeated… by another God. The name of the other God was Melqart, if I was not wrong. They seems to have fought in an underground city, which was left ruined because of the fight. The report was from the Witenagemot, a _trustable_ source. As for how I managed to hear it before you, let us say that I have my sources."

The flame God… Prometheus was defeated by Melqart? I could see the connection but that means…

"Oh, and I have heard that they found a boy in the ruins. He had blond hair and he wore a headphone. Sounds like our rude intruder was it not?

Hahaha! How fitting of him to be killed due to meddling with the duel of two Gods. Shame that I cannot turn him into my servant though."

No… he, he must be lying. I simply could not believe what he had said. I cannot show my emotion by lifting my head, thus I unfortunately could not verify the truth of his statement by looking at his face.

But, I refuse to believe that it was the truth. I believe that Sakamaki Izayoi has actually won. Yet, there was no report of someone becoming a Campione other than that Kusanagi Godou. From my impressions of him, Sakamaki Izayoi does not seems to be one to hide himself, he seems like an attention-seeking problem-maker.

He came crashing in the duel of Voban and Prometheus. After Voban left him for me to handle, I explained the situation to him in hope of making him understand of the danger, thus no need for to turn to violence.

Looking back on it, it seems to be rather out of character for Voban to not tear him apart with his own hand. Could it be that he actually left one of his servants, either the Wolf or the Dead Servant? That would explain why he seems to know of my intentions.

In any case, that person chose not to heed my warning thus forcing me to resort to force him out with violence. However, during the fight…

_"A knight cannot choose its master!"_

_"Heh, you got that wrong. A true knight would only serve a worthy master. His honor is more important than anything! He would rather die than serve an unworthy lord, no matter what other reason that might have tried to force the him to do such a thing, his honor is still more important!"_

That was what he said to me. I did not want to serve Voban; that much was true. To serve the one he chose to serve no matter what, that is the duty of a knight. However, for one to choose a wrong lord, that would tarnish the knight's honor instead and drive him to his grave.

Such was the fate of the hero Karna in the Mahabharata. Yet, he was still better than me in that he consciously chose his lord because of his debt to him. I on the other hand, merely followed the instruction of my grandfather without even protesting it.

Sakamaki Izayoi was correct. By serving a wrong lord with such a weak reason, I was tarnishing my honor as a knight. And I am thankful of him for reminding me of that.

In any case, once he defeated me, he called out the God that had actually never escaped at all. He then challenged him to a duel, the God known as Prometheus. It was crazy, I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me. I even asked if I at least could accompany him but he refused it.

Part of the reason for me to ask that was because if he was to win, then I will be free and able to serve a lord of my choice, if he was to lose, then at least I will die following my belief and that's that. It would be much better than becoming Voban's Dead Servant.

But as he refused, and I had no choice but to return to Voban. He did have a good reason for not allowing me to follow him. But just from seeing his confidence, I felt that he would win.

That's why, I refuse to believe what Voban said.

Yes… it was a lie! Sakamaki Izayoi entrusted his headphone to me! He couldn't have worn it! It came from Witenagemot, the ones I asked to check up on him, that means that it was a message from him to me. That he was alive, and that he managed to slay a God.

Perhaps he has some reason why he cannot simply declare himself as the eighth Campione? Ah… maybe it was to protect me in the case Voban becomes mad and slaughter me in retaliation to the news? That might be possible. I think.

I allowed a small smile to my face, which I naturally did not show as I bowed my head even deeper, hiding my true emotion away from him.

"Hm… well, as my prey has escaped me, perhaps I shall find another prey now. …ah, yes, that reminds me. We do have a way to summon god do we not?"

No, please, don't! The last time that ritual was done, it had made a lot of amongst the Mikos _used_ in the ritual lost their sanity. I was actually among the one-third that retained my sanity.

To do that once again…

"In three more months, the stellar constellations and the flow of ley lines will form the right conditions to call a god for the first time in four years. I may not be interested in that kind of knowledge myself, but I made a professional make sure. Isn't that right, Caspar?"

A Dead Servant appeared from the door and nodded mechanically. That's it, it was the Dead Servant. Despite being dead, they still retain their skills and intellects, which was why Voban was able to know about my conversation with Sakamaki Izayoi and gathered the fake information made by him through the Witenagemot.

The Dead Servant nodded in response.

"Kranjcar. You were one of the mikos I gathered four years ago. Do you remember who showed the most outstanding talent back then?"

I remember about it. I had talked to her myself and it was a very tragic event. The names of those whom I had had conversations with in that day were etched deep into my memory.

"At that time, I found out that quality is more important than quantity. Rather than gathering riffraff, I should handpick the very best miko instead. Unless I was mistaken, wasn't she Asian? You wouldn't happen to remember that girls name and lineage, would you?"

It seems that I cannot prevent the repeat of another bloody tragedy. I chose to tell him about Mariya Yuri, even though I did not want it. However, something that he said after I told him her locations surprised me.

He decided to go to Tokyo in person. He said he wanted to have a little vacation while on Japan. Moreover, he asked me to accompany him in the travel, most likely since he did not want me, his toy, to escape.

No, perhaps I can use this opportunity. Mariya Yuri, being a Japanese, is within the territory of the recently reborn Campione, Kusanagi Godou. If the two were to fight, it would be a great opportunity for me to escape. Of course I didn't tell him about the Seventh Campione as the fact that he is bringing me there indicated that he might not know about him yet.

That is why, when he told me to prepare for the travel to there, I did it joyfully.

Three months. Just three more months until I will be free. Then I can start to search for the master I want to serve.

Ideally, that would be Sakamaki Izayoi due to my debt to him but the Seventh Campione is also a possible candidate. I do not know what kind of person he was but it would not hurt to observe him.

Hopefully he also turns out as good person who would not descend into his desires and whims as a Campione or at least be a decent Campione who knows restraint.

In hindsight, it was very naïve of me to hope for a Campione that knows restraint. That is as impossible as the existence of another world.

* * *

**Alice Louise—Might As Well Be Thursday**

_March the 29th…_

Yesterday our organization had a report of the presence of a God in a certain place. Upon checking it, they found a newborn Campione instead. Being the one experienced in talking with Campiones, I was asked to talk to him by the Elders as I was the one with most experience regarding dealing with Campiones.

When I saw him, I think that I might have met him somewhere but I wasn't sure where and when exactly. In any case, after a little talk, he went to fight against the God Melqart who arrived in here to challenge the slayer of his… friend Prometheus.

After a fairly long battle in which the new Campione won, I walked towards him.

What happened afterwards was that he exposed the truth of why I meet him. He then decided to be the Witenagemot's Campione under the a few conditions, the first being was to tell him why exactly I tried to subtly dissuade him from joining us. The second condition however, honestly caught me off guard.

"Oh, it's nothing much really. I just want you to tell me the truth behind the past and the death of a person by the name of 'Golden Canary'."

Ah, so that was why this boy looked familiar. He was one of Canaria's adopted children.

I, should I tell him though? Technically it was _my_ fault. I am the one who made that prophecy after all thus indirectly causing her death. No, I must tell him. He has the right to know about it. And so, I told him about her background, how we found her, what she said about him, and eventually, how she died.

"_I_ had a vision, a prophecy, about an incident that could end the world. She was then called back since it was urgent but even so, she still returned to meet you and just in case, start to prepare for in case she lose but died before being able to see the result of the game."

I emphasized the 'I' in the beginning but because of my own fear and cowardice, it probably didn't get noticed…

In any case, I continued the true story behind Canaria's life and her death. Finally, I told him the name of the Goddess that she sealed, thus technically the one killing her. I asked him why did he want to know about it and what will he do once he knows. The answer was kind of expected.

"As I said, I'll meet her first then decide after that. Though since it is me we are talking about, I'll probably flirt a bit, have a little duel, then ask her to explain over a cup of tea, and then I finally decide."

That seems to be in-character from my impression on him. Although it is rather confusing in that he is reckless while being an intelligent person capable of deducing both my plan and the true identity of the killer. The fact that he didn't get angry at me for my part in her death was probably because he deemed it wasn't something important.

After he restored the Divine Space and dispelled it, I then went to prepare his flight to England as he decided to be the Campione of Witenagemot.

It seems that I am working overtime here. But truthfully, it was better than the next day.

_March the 30th…_

Mr. Izayoi asked me to bring him directly to my place due to "not wanting to deal with the whole Campione crap yet."

However, when we arrived there…

"Hey Alice, you won't complain if I heal your body won't you?"

"…what?"

"As I said, I'm going to heal your body. Though it involves using my… [Flame of Purification] Authority so don't be surprised by it, alright?"

I kind of expected him to insensitively ask about what made me sick like that but this, I didn't expect it one bit. Before I had the chance to say anything he already did it anyway…

…and then that 'Black Prince' Alec came in. As usual, he really has bad luck when dealing with women. This time, he chose the worst time possible to visit me, probably to ask regarding Melqart and Prometheus.

Naturally, Mr. Izayoi decided to go and challenge him. How expectable of his reckless and impulsive character in addition to his nature as a Campione. Naturally, I didn't object at all. Besides, there's a chance I might be able to see that ruffian gets beaten up by him.

At first, Mr. Izayoi was losing due to Alec's speed once he got serious. But then, he reversed the situation by stealing Alec's [Black Lightning]. The ensuing fight… cannot be called a fight anymore as it was more like bullying instead. If it wasn't for him declaring it as boring and letting Alec get away after returning his Authority, Mr. Izayoi would have achieved total win.

It somewhat made sense though as Mr. Izayoi somehow managed to manifests the Avatar Form of the [Black Lightning], thus giving him literal lightning speed in addition to his monstrous strength.

Still, as I watched his fight with Alec, I started to think about what kind of person exactly Canaria's adopted son is.

Just like other Campiones, he is a very reckless person. However there are some interesting part about him that I saw. For one, he is actually a pretty responsible person.

Why did I think of that? Simple: the Divine Space. He chooses to use them and even repair them with his own energies. That is one evidence. Another was Canaria's comments about him. She said that he actually held most of his powers back because he didn't want to destroy too many things. And from my impression of talking with him yesterday, he, while reckless, is a person who is analytical and had a very logical way of thinking.

Responsible and logical… my instinct as a Princess Shrine Maiden says that he would clean up his own problems. That is a very unique kind of Campione. The chance of this kind of Campione being born is probably only one in 300,000, which is probably less than the amounts of Campiones that have existed.

…that is however kind of appropriate for him, being the bearer of Prometheus and all.

In any case, I decided to observe him. He was technically the adopted child of one whom I think of as my sister after all so he was kind of my responsibility.

Just as I came into conclusion to that, I saw that he finished his fight. Well, I suppose it is about time I punish him a little. Responsible or not, he still made some trouble so I just have to 'punish' him a little. Good thing that his Divine Space is really strong or I would have been much angrier.

My idea of punishing him is simple: Have him deal with "the whole Campione crap" today. And so, I called a limo and fetched him on his way back.

Yes, I saw that he was annoyed when I broke the news to him.

And yet… when later I brought him in front of the Elders, he managed to have fun instead! And worse is the fact that I could not see the event for myself as I was busy being smothered by my father due to my recovery. Worst, he had fun seeing me getting embarrassed thanks to my father. The fact that my father managed to annoy him didn't offset them.

I really should have remembered that Campiones are all crazily lucky.

But well, those are pale in contrast with…

"Huh?! K-k-kiss?! W-why do we have to kiss to make a contract?!"

"Dunno, probably due to sacred meaning blabla, legends and myths of kiss this, contract requirement that. Fact is, we just had to kiss for some reason so that you can gain permanent support from my Authority. If you do, you can use the full capacity of your talents without fearing for your body's condition getting worse."

What a halfhearted excuse. It's like one of those rather perverted teenage novels! But I have to admit, it is a small price to pay in front of the benefits. In fact, strictly speaking I do not lose anything at all.

Still, there is a little problem…

"W-what about Lord Morgenstein?! He is within you so naturally wouldn't he—"

"He disconnected himself already. Apparently it works kind of like how the little men in the Homunculus Argument so he could just 'close his eyes' to disconnect my senses from his. Anyway, what will you do?"

…there goes my last excuse. I weighted the pros and cons of accepting it. The pros are that I will be able to use my full power and I do not need to worry about my health anymore. The cons are… objectively speaking, none at all. I don't really lose anything by having a kiss, even if it is somewhat embarrassing.

That's why I accepted rather quickly although I am still embarrassed with it. I am a young maiden after all… though I admit I have to be a total fool to reject it just because of that.

"Y-yes. I understand the benefit in the long run so please, go ahead."

He approached me and I just closed my eyes, leaving everything to him. And so… we kissed.

No, I refuse to describe how it was. Besides, I honestly couldn't remember. It was rather… passionate I guess and I can't really pay attention the details because I was focused on kissing. It was probably because I got caught up in the heat of the moment. Honestly, how could I describe it when I got caught up in the heat?

What I _do_ remember of it was that it felt like, well, a kiss. Admittedly, it does feels kind of good. But I can't really describe the taste or feel of a kiss. It does makes me wonder about all of those books… it doesn't taste like strawberry at all. Strawberry is kind of sweet, saliva does not tastes sweet, not even others.

It took around five minutes or so for us to be finished. I don't know about others, but I think that was quite long enough. So, I sat down on the bed and tried to calm my emotion.

While I was feeling dizzy and busy contemplating the kiss I just received however, I did not notice what he was doing until it was too late…

"W-what are you doing with my wardrobe?!"

I saw that he opened my wardrobe and put his hands inside, which was shining. Naturally, I immediately checked the insides. I was left speechless with what I saw.

"I'm just turning all of your skirts into miniskirts with a certain Gift of mine. It's not just any miniskirts, they're all miniskirts 'that you can almost see through but you cannot see through it.' In other words, a magic skirt!"

W-what in the name of… wait weren't those were my…

"Oh yeah, it seems that it also turns pants into miniskirts. I have to thank her for giving me this amazing gift if I ever meet her again."

I do not know who this 'her' is but I hate her with all my might. Perhaps it was due to my anger, but as I gripped the wardrobe's door, it cracked and eventually broke.

"Hya?!"

I was really surprised by it. It seems that the contract really does makes me stronger. The wood it was made of was rather hard so for me to break them so easily, it shows how much stronger I am now.

"Oh? Interesting, so it buffs you up to that level, huh? And it works so fast too."

Yes, I did not expect it to work that fast. And it seems to give me a rather high-leveled perpetual reinforcement.

"Hey, Alice, can you sit down for a while? I have some important things to tell you."

He seems to be serious. As I thought, he does have a serious side in addition to his idiotic side after all.

I sat down on the bed while he sat on the chair in front of the desk near the bad. After a while, he started to talk.

By the time he finished, I felt anxious. It was beyond bad. A disaster? Might be related to Judgement Day?

Forget about Artus, this is a much bigger problem. …or perhaps could it be actually about The King of The End?

I was more troubled by the fact that I didn't even felt it or get a prophecy about it _at all_. When I tried to look at the star to find out about it more, I felt like there was something… something like a veil blocking my vision. This is obviously bad.

And I finally understood why he needed me to be able to use my full power, he needed information. Seems like I wasn't the only one trying to use the others.

That night, I tried to sleep but obviously couldn't with all that happened today. How could I sleep with all the thoughts that was in my mind? Honestly, rather than Wednesday, today might as well have been Thursday!

One thought was much more dominant than the others, however.

Happiness. Indeed, I was joyful from the fact that I have no need to fear for my body from becoming sick ever again. It's like a dream comes true! It probably is, as I have dreamt so many times in my sleep. Even if I did not regret it, I still wishes to be free.

And now, I am finally free. With that thought, I finally fell asleep. When I slept, I dreamt of nothing. Perhaps because my wish has been fulfilled. It was the best rest I had in years.

_March the 31st…_

…ugh… even if I had dreamt of nothing, that did not mean that my sleep went nicely. Not too long after that, I rolled and fell from my bed. And thanks to being so well rested, it took me a while to finally start to fall asleep. And just when I did… the full weight of what I done last night with Sakamaki Izayoi finally sink through.

Needless to say, I was unable to fall asleep again. So, I choose to just wake up, and take a walk through the hallway. There, I met Mr. Izayoi who said he woke up early and decided to watch the dawning sky.

"So, how's your body?"

"Hm? …Ah! Er… it is quite… fine actually."

Not good, it was because of the whole weight of the matter finally sunk through just a few minutes ago.

At these time, it is obvious what to do: Fall back and regroup.

"Ah, yes! That reminds me, I have written a draft for reporting about you… please wait for a bit."

I ran away very quickly to my room. In there, I took out the report I was working yesterday.

I looked at the mirror on the room. Staring intently at my own face, I then slapped my cheek to wake and calm myself. Alright! Here goes nothing!

Returning back to that person, I gave him the report for a little checking if he wanted anything added or erased.

"Here it is, you might want to check it before I publish it."

He read through the report. After commenting on some small parts, he then made his decision.

"This report… don't publish it. At least not yet."

"Why? Won't you get great benefits from that? You can fulfill your duty and your wishes much easier if you do that."

I was naturally confused. More than that, this might pose a problem to my plan as I cannot invoke his name to the other organization. After all, what good in having a Campione if you cannot use his name?

"Do remember that my main objective is to gather the Campiones and gain information. The latter can only be done easier if I am not known yet, and for the former that means I can sneak into their territories much more easily."

"I see… yes, it would be wise not to reveal yourself this early in the plan… however, what are we to do with the other people?"

My voice slightly trailed off there due to my disappointment before I immediately divert the topic to another problem to hide it.

"Then make a cover story. 'We did not found anyone in the ruins, however we have recently found and contacted him. He answered about our questions and then he decided to join our organization.' Or something to that tone, it doesn't matter. We can think all of the details later, but for now, let's just stay silent."

After a little consideration, I decided to agree to his decision.

"Yes, although the Elders would probably not be amused by this."

"Then tell them this: Talk to the hand."

"The bare hands of a Campione can rip humans to shreds easily, hmhmm. In other words, 'shut it or I'll turn you into a minced meat.'"

Although he chose to call it as a suggestion on what not to do.

"In any case, I will be prepare on how to report it to the Elder. But for now, hm… I honestly think that you should have a title. You have managed to defeat two strong Gods and a very experienced Campione in such a brief time after all…"

I looked at the twilight sky. A royalty that have yet to take his thrown but will eventually do so. One who bears the Morning Star that appears as the brightest star in the moment of dawn.

"Let's see… how about... the Crown Prince of the Dawning Sky?"

"Sure, why not? It somewhat fits anyway."

I nodded to his reply. It seems that he was pleased by it.

"Yes, I think so too... now then Mr. Izayoi, I am going to prepare on how to tell the Elder. Later in the noon, there is a place I would like to show you. An important place."

"Alright, see you later then."

I then went away and returned to my room. Since I'm awake now, why not do some works? I can get some free time earlier if I finish my works early after all.

_Later that day…_

What a truly troublesome fellow. I do admit that it was nice that he found that sword and the location of Madam Aisha. I originally thought that we'll only go to the headquarter, I'll then report to the Elders and the other higher ups, show him the vault where our treasures are being kept in, then after a little research in the library we return to my mansion.

But this… this is beyond my expectation. And not in a nice way.

"And thus, the best art in this entire world is hidden, AT THE UNIVERSE WITHIN YOURSELF! The same applies to a maiden's skirt. If you can see all of it, then there is only the vulgarities of the panties left, however, if you can't see a thing then it is art!"

"…what an idiot, no, idiots."

I revised my initial statement as I felt through my instinct that Lord Morgenstein had agreed to it. I honestly did not think that there could be that kind of God but more importantly, it is this kind of 'too much information' situations that makes me dislike my great ability as a Princess Shrine Maiden. Sometimes I just finds out things that I did not want to know. And it seems that I will know even more things I do not want to know thanks to having a healthy body being able to use my full power now.

Not that I was ungrateful or anything, however. But knowing some things you do not want to know are rather unpleasant.

"So, what are you doing, here? It's not just to disturb us, isn't it?"

"Of course not. Mr. Izayoi is not the only that have something to investigate on."

It is rather rare when this library is empty. As the 'King who manifests at the end of eras' must be kept hidden from other people, I cannot research about him when it was not empty for fears of it being found out.

"Oh? Then you have something to investigate too?"

"Yes. But before that I have to ask you something."

There is something that I really have to ask him or it will keep me uneasy every time I see him…

"Why? I am quite sure that you already know that I have an agenda for accepting you as the Campione of Witenagemot, so why did you…?"

To that he answered:

"Why did I simply just do nothing and letting it go? Well I don't have any reason to get angry or something. For one, I don't feel that it's a threat to me. Second, it's a deal so both party should reap benefits. And lastly… you're not the only one evaluating who you were speaking with. I evaluated you too, and I felt that I can trust you. That whatever you're planning it's not something bad."

...I was made silent by his answer but even so, I have to admit; he has won. That statement, saying that he trusts me, stabbed into my heart and conscience. He has won my loyalty. Even so…

"Th-that was quite the dirty move, Mr. Izayoi… to say something like that…"

"Oh? What are you saying? I am just an idiot with a muscle for a brain who could never think of anything devious. Nope, not at all."

"Mhfufufu, you? An idiot? Surely you jest Mr. Izayoi!"

Someone who managed to corner this Alice Louise to that far, as if he could be an idiot. Regardless, it didn't change the fact that he had won.

After that, he asked me what exactly my plan was. After a little contemplation, I decided to tell him about it. I made an incantation in small voice to create a ward to prevent people from eavesdropping on the conversation.

The agenda was about Artus, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Holy Grail. I told him all I knew about it. Apparently even Lord Morgenstein knows about the King of the End. Not surprising seeing as his myths are present in some form in nearly all myths in the Old World and probably even in the New World too. The fact that he had also battled and driven a lot of Heretic Gods to the Netherworld also helps.

Thinking about it, I really do not know of my opinion about the Strongest among all [Steel]. On one hand, just from his moniker, he was clearly bad news. A God of Sun manifesting on this world could burn the whole world into cinder so naturally, a God known for ending an Era is very clearly disastrous if he were to manifest. At the same time, he drove many Heretic Gods and lowered the numbers of Campione, both are beings who absolutely causes troubles to humans.

I am split between thinking of him as benign and malign in effects, although he is most likely neutral in nature.

In any case, after I told Mr. Izayoi about all of the subject, he proposed some really outrageous ideas. Although I do have to admit that he had a point.

At the very least I know now what to search for. Even if it ended up being another dead end, I might find some things of interests.

"Well then Mr. Izayoi, please excuse me for a while. I am going to find some books pertaining to those subjects. Ah! There is no need to help me really. I would like to get used to my body again so I would like to try to do it myself."

I then left to continue my investigation. Hah, so many things to do, how busy I have become ever since I met him. Well, it isn't all that bad as most of the things that happened does benefits me in the long term.

After a while, I returned back to him, only to find that he was dozing off.

I lined the chairs, slowly moving him to sleep on the lined up chairs, then projected a pillow using ectoplasm. What, did you think I would give him lap pillow or something? There's no way I would do something like that as I bear no such kind of feelings towards him. However, this is the least I can do, that is because he deserves a little break.

"Ufu, sleep well, Crown Prince. You deserve it after all you have gone through these past few days."

He is the Crown Prince, for he is already worthy of becoming a King yet still have not taking his rightful throne yet. Though impulsive and reckless he might be, he is also someone responsible and wise.

A vision flashed through my mind. It is the image of a King, no, an Emperor among the stars, solemnly gazing at the Sun and the Moon. Sitting on his throne, he is a philosopher-king who understood the Good after all he went through.

Was that a prophecy of his future? As I thought, he truly was special among the Campiones. He will be greater than all others, surpassing all the other Campiones. That day seems to be far in the future however, as there are many ordeals he has to pass first.

The vision then finally ended, and I was greeted by Sakamaki Izayoi's sleeping form. He looks very… peaceful and calm when he was asleep…

Unlike the problematic Campione he is when awake.

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**Epilogue 00 — End**

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**Afterword:**

The thing with Lily is a Deconstructive Parody. In Canon she likes to use Subordinate Excuse "—because I am your knight" or "As a knight—" in many situations (mostly comedic in nature) so I simply just takes those statements seriously and put her in a serious situation.

Alice on the other hand, is an Affectionate Parody. Even if I like LNs and Campiones, I just couldn't help but poke fun and lampshade their clichés. Not to mention crushing the hope of people who thought she got a crush on Izayoi. Nope, they're just friends. He missed the flag for her Route.

Oh, and I fixed the date, skipped on day on the third chapter. I do wonder how many people could catch the references I made in this chapter, both the ones to fictional works and the ones to actual things. Oh, and in addition to the next chapter preview once again being posted on Thread, I have also put the links to the musics there, try hearing it as they are quite nice.

Now then, if anyone else have a question, just ask in a Review, PM, or in the Forum and I'll answer it if I can. I think I have mostly replied the reviews of the previous chapters so maybe you should check your inbox. Some didn't replied back after all so I thought they might have not read it.

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**First Published:** July the 15th, 2013

**Last Edited:** July the 26th, 2013.


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